I'm A Rock Star
by smiles555fofo
Summary: AU Sure her tutor had caused a ton of havoc on her life, but forcing her on this challenge is beyond sane. Recruiting band members and partying with celebs would surely flip her world...into romance? FEM27Xall, singers, models, rich kids, and much more
1. Chapter 1

I'm A Rock Star

**Disclaimer: **Do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Tralalala.

**Warning: **This is FEMALE Tsuna, if you had paid mind to the summary. Also, she is well-acquainted with Hibari and his death threats, Reborn and his death traps, and humiliation and its…death…ness.

**Notes: **27All. Mainly focusing on 1827 and 5927, but pairings might change.

* * *

The impatient taps of feet, the drumming of fingers pacing upon folded arms, the constant irritated huffs, and the chattering shared among the waiting people around her brought the usual rhythm of the day: waiting for the bus. It was part of the routine she had led ever since she had grown old enough to be trusted going to school by herself. Sawada Tsunayoshi, now the age of fourteen and a second year of Namimori Middle School, is waiting for the bus to arrive.

Tsuna leaned to one feet, and then to the other. Instead of drowning herself in utter boredom like most people around her were, her mind was occupied with thoughts both troubling and intriguing. Was the driver going to get himself stuck in traffic again? Would Hibari discipline her for her tardiness again? What should she do after school? Were they selling that strawberry-coated Pocky? What sort of traps would her tutor present her this time?

The same thoughts cycled through her head, as if it was a mantra. Again and again. But it wasn't as if she had anything better to do. Tsuna was a middle school student, studying for high school, and afterwards attend college. There wasn't anything exciting so far in her life; though having Reborn as a tutor was a thrill…in every negative way possible. Ever since the Italian man was hired giving her extra lessons, her grades had soared, thus her extreme exhaustion and the horrible bags under her eyes. But soon her academic skills escalated thanks to Reborn, and so did her physical endurance. Having the man threatening her, scaring her, chasing her with guns and bombs and crocodiles really did pay off.

Though the students still intended to title her as "Dame-Tsuna" due to her earlier failures and uselessness despite how much improvement the girl had performed. Tsuna didn't mind anymore, really. Somehow, after training under Reborn, any humiliation that wasn't forced upon her by the man didn't seem as troublesome. Perhaps her self-consciousness had faded away because of the constant training and disturbance she had to endure because she was becoming used to it, especially the evil chuckles and smirks sent by Reborn.

Tsuna blinked from her thoughts as soon as the sight of her oil-stained ride jerked to a screechy stop. Following the line of people climbing up the steps, she held her breath from breathing in the foul stench of gas and hurried to snatch a seat before some nasty old lady could steal it away from her. As she sat down, ignoring the disdain and sour look the elderly woman gave her, her eyes drifted off to the window.

Two more days, Tsuna thought with a sigh, before the weekend would begin. And then what? Certainly Reborn would be sadistic enough to not allow the poor girl to sleep in during the weekends, but blessed it be any kind-hearted God that Reborn would not be able to tutor her during her break. Something about having a reunion with old associates, or somewhat similar from what the man had informed her yesterday. "Don't miss me too much" was what he had said with a smirk. Tsuna shook her head, a small smile forming upon her lips from being amused of finding herself longing for Reborn. That would be just masochistic of her. Oh well. Just two more days of utter hell left.

Soon the bus slowed to a stop, and Tsuna trailed down the steps off of the vehicle. Everyday since two months ago, she would detect the transfer student walking across the street that was adjacent from the bus stop. She was cautious enough to avoid the Italian boy. Gokudera Hayato was, from what she had observed, a foul-tempered person with a foul language and a foul attitude. She didn't like him. But apparently her female classmates held an attraction for the male due to his handsome exterior and bad-boy demeanor. Tsuna agrees that Gokudera was indeed a dashing figure, but his personality was crude, violent, and expresses defiance. Somewhat reminded her of Hibari, but less mysterious and weird.

Unfortunately for her, Gokudera was her classmate, meaning she had to endure his non-stop cursing and horrible behavior towards everybody, not that the female counterparts minded. Though Tsuna did. Her first guess was that he was nervous on the first day and wanted to impress his new classmates, but that belief faltered instantly.

Like she would do for the past two months, after the transfer of Gokudera Hayato, Tsuna waited until the boy had already crossed the street. While she watched him, Tsuna blinked from surprise to see the streetlights switching from white to green to white, and so on until the flashes were rapid. There was yet another electric fuse to confuse the drivers and the crossers. She sighed, hoping that someone would fix the infuriating thing before there would be an accident. Those who had lived in these parts long enough were well aware of the silly streetlights that happen to act strangely, thus knew that whenever the flashing stopped to an abrupt white, people would not cross because then it would blink to a green.

Apparently Gokudera didn't know that. He raised an eyebrow at the lights, and when it turned to white—indicating the people were able to cross, he stepped on the street. Tsuna gawked in shock, taking an unconscious step forward. He finished a quarter walk of the path, and the lights went from white to green. Of course, people had gasped from what stunt the boy was not aware of, but Tsuna have not heard them; she was absorbed of the fact that there was an insanely large truck just about to flatten Gokudera. Obviously the driver didn't see him because the seat was situated higher than most drivers.

There were two things buzzing in her mind: shield her eyes so that her eyes wouldn't become a bystander of the bloody scene or alert Gokudera. It would be an easy choice to pick option one rather than option two—her shock would have taken over her body anyway, but what would happen then? Obviously, there would be one less student attending at Namimori Middle School; however, the numbers would reduce back to its original amount of students. Plus she wouldn't have to suffer giggles and curses. Tsuna shook her head, admonishing herself of thinking like a simple-minded fool. Her classmate was about to be killed and he didn't have a single clue about it, that until his head was turned towards to the charging truck and his eyes were widened.

There was a scream.

"Shit! Someone get an ambulance!"

For some reason, Tsuna suddenly saw black—as if she became blind. Then, oh so very slowly, color had been restored to her vision but was incredibly blurry. As the images were focused, an unpleasant banging sensation rang her head; Tsuna clutched her hair and groaned, tasting bile that coated her tongue. She felt nauseated, but her body didn't lurch out vomit.

Something sticky and damp seeped through her fingers that were gripping her hair, and when realizing this, Tsuna reopened her closed eyes and checked what was stained on her palm. Blood. Her eyes widened, and sensed her surroundings. Well, she knew that she was bleeding; she had been hit to near unconsciousness; and she wasn't participating the scared fest within the crowd. Therefore, something troublesome happened, and it was probably by far worse than one of Hibari's punishments—but never as dreadful as Reborn's.

"What the…?" Tsuna mumbled, not feeling her voice vibrating through her lips. In fact, the unknown impact that inflicted on her skull probably numbed her nerves. Tsuna felt sick and disgusted.

She shifted her position, discovering that her other hand supported her weight and knees that sprawled across the concrete. No, not exactly concrete, the street. How in the world did she move from the bus stop to the street? Teleportation? Tsuna groaned again. What are the odds that she would be late for school again? And what a mess this morning has been—she didn't even know what was going on, but it was sensible to assume that her day was going to end as a terrible day.

What was her current position? Tsuna looked down and stared back at green eyes, eyes that were definitely foreign or contact lenses. Along with the eyes went with fair hair, hair that was definitely foreign or bleached. Along with the hair went with a face constructed not that of what a Japanese person would inherit. The skin color was somewhere between pink and white as the curve of the nose bridge shadowed the tucks of the green eyes. Definitely foreign. And definitely familiar.

"Gokudera Hayato…" Tsuna was surprised to find her voice drawl out his name so naturally, and the boy looked surprised as well. Then realization pounded her hard like bricks. She was practically lying on top of the male as he was sitting, or trying to get up but couldn't because she was practically on top of him! Tsuna prayed that she wasn't blushing at _this _embarrassment.

"How—who are you?" he asked. Tsuna was dumbfounded that his voice, for once, wasn't accusing her with his usual sarcastic venom, but whispering curiously. Never have she thought that she, Dame-Tsuna, would hear him asking for _her _name, and not in a demanding tone. Then again, she wouldn't expect to find herself straddling the transfer either.

Choosing to ignore the question, Tsuna pushed herself off the boy—which ended badly since her arm twitched and caused the girl to tumble like an idiot. "Ow," she muttered. "Ow."

"Are you in pain?"

"Somewhat, but I think I'll survive." Tsuna smiled reassuringly, but he didn't look convinced.

He frowned. "That was—"

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" interrupted a high-pitched female voice. Following the woman's voice, Tsuna listened to the hysterical admonishment and minor praises that poured upon her. Gokudera received only constant apologies and nerve-wrecking questions. Indeed, with Gokudera's European appearance, the adults wouldn't scold him for crossing the streets when cars were coming. He was new to Japan, and likely wasn't notified of the electric fuse of the streetlights that happened randomly.

"That was a stupid act you did there, young lady," a gruff voice commented, "but what you did was a very courageous performance."

"Are you nuts, old man?" cried another. "She could have gotten herself _killed_!"

"But at least she saved the boy," defended someone else.

"That foreigner boy was crazy too, but probably didn't know too much 'bout these parts."

What happened? Tsuna wondered, and glanced to Gokudera and voiced her thought. Gokudera looked at her with bewilderment. "Are you serious?"

"I sort of blacked out there," Tsuna admitted.

"You saved me."

"Huh?"

"You _saved _me."

Tsuna blinked, wondering if she had processed the information correctly. Perhaps she was suffering delusions that her mind was playing. Hence, the possibilities of brain damage she was wounded with and the necessities of going to the hospital. But she was sure that she had heard Gokudera correctly despite the chattering crowd. Had she saved him? But from what?

"Did I…How exactly did I saved you?" Tsuna asked, resisting the urge to suddenly spit out bile. The bitter tang tasted terrible, causing the girl to almost vomit. It was just like that time when Reborn had forced her to ride a rollercoaster that went into loops, downfalls, spins, and other crazy effects. And it didn't help that he treated her with ice cream and hotdogs before the ride. Though, seeing how rollercoasters and food didn't quite interlocked with the subject of trucks and transfer-students, the relation of vomit did.

He baffled. "_What_?" he sputtered. "How hard did your head hit?"

Tsuna sheepishly looked away. "Uh…"

A hand collapsed on her shoulder. "Young lady, you suddenly reacted and pushed this young man out of the way! Doing so, the truck had hit you, causing you to _fly _and risking your life for him." The elderly man shook his head as if he couldn't believe his words, yet his witnessing eyes that proved his denial wrong. "It's a miracle that you survived."

"Miss, are you all right? Ah, geez, I am so sorry! But you could have gotten yourself killed!" said a man. Tsuna assumed that he was the one who drove the truck.

That's funny, Tsuna thought, here she was—the hero. But wasn't there something she had to do before rescuing Gokudera? And wasn't there something Gokudera had to do too? Trying to remember, her eyes wandered to the crest of Gokudera's uniform shirt. Then she recalled a very important duty she must finish.

"Crud, I'm late," Tsuna muttered. Without another thought, she staggered back onto her two feet, grabbed her bag that was lying limply on the sidewalk, and dashed straightly to her school. The adults that were somewhat involved in the unforeseen event gawked at the sudden rush of the girl who performed a brave task, and shouted out to her that she should go to the hospital, but the girl paid no heed.

"Crazy kids these days," grumbled a man. "It's as if she wasn't injured a second ago!"

"Look the way she runs! It's as if she's used to being hit by trucks already."

"As if she's been training under a hitman or something. Imagine that!"

"Yeah…Hey, boy, you probably took it harder than she did. We better get you to the hospital."

Gokudera, while watching Tsuna's retreating form, shook his head. "I better get to school as well." He gathered his bag and idly tossed it over his shoulder and walked away, as if nothing had occurred. The bystanders stood there completely flabbergasted by the casual behavior the teenagers had functioned. They came to a conclusion that teenagers these days were weird and that they should forget that this had ever happened. It was good news for the truck driver since he didn't have to die of hysteria of nearly running over two people.

For Tsuna, she ran and ran as if her life depended on it. She was practically limping, but she tried her best to disregard the pain that shocked her nerves. There were two problems she would have to face if she was late for school: Hibari and Reborn.

Reborn would be disappointed as usual if he heard that she was late for her lessons again, and would punish her like always—but that didn't mean he was a terror of her life. Hibari was a meddlesome subject as well. Ever since her first day of Namimori Middle School, when she was a first year, she unintentionally overslept. Afraid of being late for class, she ran to school as fast as she could, but accidentally ran into Hibari Kyoya in the process. She was aware of the advances of the frightening leader of the Discipline Committee, and was deeply afraid of the results when she would come encounter her fate with tardiness.

She never heard that Hibari had injured a girl before, but she never heard a girl being late to class either. And she did not want to be the first example. So there she was, Dame-Tsuna, just about to be pounded in the nose by the second year. What she did not expect was to be cornered with tonfas and a deadly whisper warning her, "Herbivores who are late deserve to be bitten to death." He turned around, the black cloak rested upon his shoulders whipped the air, and stalked away. The tension and the entire scene was so dramatic, Tsuna fell to her knees while sliding against the wall behind her. Those piercings eyes, those dangerous tonfas, and that one phrase sent shivers down her spine. She vowed never to be late ever again.

But it was unfortunate that she was Dame-Tsuna. Thus, there were couple times she was late, and Hibari succeeded in scaring her, but that didn't stop her from accidentally coming late. It struck her odd the upperclassmen merely threaten her rather than disciplining her like he did with other students. Nevertheless, the other students were apparently male and she was only female, so it must be difficult punishing a girl without being disrespectful. And she was just satisfied of not having a blow on her face.

She figured that Hibari couldn't tolerate her tardiness anymore now that he actually punishes her instead of threatening her with the frequently used phrase. Her first punishment was when she was huddled in the corner, eyes squeezed shut and fingers trembling with fear, a sharp whip bruised her forehead. "Ouch!" she yelped, caressing her head, and looked up to see those same eyes. Instead of being pulverized, Hibari _flicked _her. And it _hurt. _

She was lucky enough to gain a treatment that didn't include her limbs being broken or having her skin ripped to shreds. But, after all, she was a girl. Later, he not only flicked her, but would give peculiar disciplining techniques: pinching both cheeks, thumping her head, squeezing her arm, glaring at her, giving her a painfully long scolding. Though, he delivered her the "bite" remarks like always. It was as if he was trying to be gentle with her, trying not to break her. It was amusing, yet disturbing.

Despite this advantage, Tsuna didn't want to find herself a very agitated sempai. It was bad enough that he would give a speech to her about the benefits of being a student of Namimori Middle, and what she should do and shouldn't do, and the dress code, and how herbivores were so idiotic, and the respect she should always treat towards teachers and fellow students, and she would be expelled if she continues her tardy habits…

So Tsuna was running to school. Then she slowed down to a jog, and then it decreased to a walk. It was obvious that she would be late anyway, so why the trouble? So what if she would be expelled? She just saved a boy from her class and gained injuries while doing so. Perhaps she should have gone to the hospital and get bandaged, but on the other hand….her mother would be worried and Reborn…

She shook her head. Oh well, if Tsuna was fortunate enough, she might be able to persuade Hibari to intimidate her teacher after listening her story. Hibari was indeed frightening, but Tsuna somewhat grew a quaint attachment to him. He reminded her of a puppy: lonesome and in need of a friend. And a shark: bloody-thirsty and violent. She wondered if it was just a bravado; an act in order to terrify the students and teachers. If it was, he sure was doing a great job of doing it.

Nearing the gates of Namimori, she quickly took notice of the third year walking towards her. Instead of an irritated scowl that plastered his face, his expression appeared apathetic. "Herbivore," he said, "you're late. Again."

She sheepishly smiled. "Sorry."

"And you're injured."

"H-how did you…" Of course, he could _smell _blood. She had her head wiped clean of the substance with a handkerchief, but with his keen senses, anything is possible.

"And your uniform is covered in dirt."

She attempted to feign hesitance. "Ah…So it is."

He narrowed his eyes, still doing a well impression of a stone column. "Explain."

"Erm." Tsuna fidgeted under the older male's gaze, feeling uncomfortable. Well, might as well say it. "You see, I was _really_ intending on coming to school early, but something _bad_ happened. Ah, and, well, one of my classmates was just about to be hit by this massive truck, so I pushed him out of the way and saved him. So there," she quickly ended.

He raised an eyebrow.

"I-It really did happen!" she insisted.

"I never said that I didn't believe you."

She sighed with relief.

"Nor am I convinced."

She sighed with non-relief.

"Who is this classmate of yours? I wish to question him if you truly did rescue him." Hibari crossed his arms, his expression now easing a bit.

"G-Gokudera Hayato." Tsuna felt guilty; she pitied the boy who was about to be probed by the prefect. But she had a feeling he might be able to keep his pants dry. But she also had a feeling that he would lash out at her for giving him out like that. Tsuna knew that students wished not to confront the prefect who was known to mutilate his enemies. However, Gokudera was rather belligerent himself.

"The transfer student?"

"Yeah, that's why he was nearly hit. I suppose that nobody told him about the streetlights; how they function weirdly," Tsuna commented absent-mindedly, the thought that she was talking to the leader of the Discipline Committee was slipping like every time their conversation lengthened.

"Why did you save him?"

Tsuna blinked. "Eh?"

"Don't make me repeat what I said, herbivore." Hibari mildly glared at her.

"Well, if I didn't, he would have died!"

"If you didn't succeed saving him, not only he would die but so would you."

Where was he getting at? Tsuna's eyebrows furrowed with confusion. "Of course I would have died, but at least I didn't."

"But you could have died."

"But I didn't," she persisted.

They stared at one another for a minute, and that's when Hibari's glare darkened. "Why must you be so infuriating, herbivore?" he countered.

"W-what?"

"You acted in such an impulsive way."

"But…But I saved Gokudera! He's not dead, I'm not dead. Sure, I'm injured, but—"

"Quiet."

She winced.

"Weak, pathetic, idiotic. Everything about you is a disgrace."

Tsuna winced again. Hibari did insult her before, but in every insult there was a monotonous scoff. Hence, she thought it shouldn't be something to be offended by—she actually found it somewhat funny that he would try to inflict her like a child trying to bully another child. But this…she sensed something incredibly heavy in each word. He really did think of her as a disgrace.

"Such an herbivore."

She bit her lower lip. "I…"

"Quit standing there like the idiot you are and go to the infirmary. I shall inform your teacher of your absence."

Tsuna sighed. Why must Hibari be so puzzling? First he inquiries—no, that sounded too innocent. It was more like _demanding _to know what had become of her. And then he pressured her into distress, and then shoots her with a hurtful insult. As if tensions weren't bad enough. Finally, ends with what kindness a Hibari Kyoya could express by telling her teacher of her absence.

"…T-thank you, sempai," Tsuna forced out. Indeed, he was a manipulative magician just pulling her into dilemma. And why, she internally cried to herself, was it _she _of all people? How in the world did she become involved with a paradox like _him_? No, Reborn was a paradox; Hibari was the cunning warrior who lives to torture his victims. His way of bringing torture upon her was by being his powerful and cryptic self. He who speaks with authority and titles himself as a carnivore while everybody else was mindless sheep. That's what she gets when she comes to school late.

Hibari walked.

"Ah, wait, sempai!" she called out. "Today is Wednesday; the nurse doesn't come today."

"You think that I do not know that?" he snorted.

"Then…I should treat my wounds myself?" she mumbled to herself.

"You're much of a fool to do so. I will come into the infirmary after informing your teacher; you just _wait _there." Hibari thought that Tsuna was really that stupid to do anything. That wounded her pride…

But she knew that he was doing yet another kind deed. She couldn't help but smile faintly. Perhaps he too had grown a liking towards her. Throughout the year and a half, the older male would slowly hint out his concern. Well, at least Tsuna thought he was concern of her well-being. Maybe she was being dumb, like how he mentioned previously. He probably does this to everybody.

"T-thank you again, sempai," Tsuna said, forcing a smile. "I'll be careful next time."

As she departed from the prefect, he inaudibly muttered, "Herbivores."

When she entered class, head and body bandaged and uniform replaced with the courtesy of Hibari, the teacher warily looked at her and presumed on with his teaching. Hibari must have scared the living daylights out of the man. Ridiculous, a _teacher _cowered under the power of a _student_, but understandable. Very understandable.

Tsuna saw Gokudera's seat unoccupied. Was he sent to the hospital? She didn't think that he was harmed that badly. After all, _she _was the one who was bleeding. Who risked her life for his. However, he must have been dragged to the hospital by the worried adults that surrounded them. Tsuna ushered herself out of the fray, leaving him. Or was it abandoning him? Tsuna wasn't sure. It must have been a nuisance suffocating under the pressure the adults unconsciously placed onto the poor boy. She should have pulled him out of there. She should have—

"Are you going to move?"

Tsuna turned around to find Gokudera standing at the doorway, standing behind her.

"W-what? What are you doing here?" she mumbled, eyes widening.

"I should be asking you that," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't you hit your head hard?"

"Gokudera Hayato, Sawada Tsunayoshi, I would appreciate it if you two would return to your seats," the teacher said sternly.

Embarrassed, Tsuna scurried back to her desk, avoiding looking into the curious stares the students shot her. Gokudera walked with his usual leisure strut and easily disregarded them.

Throughout the entire lesson, Tsuna struggled under the gaze of Gokudera Hayato who was literally burning holes on her back. Why was he staring at her? What did she do now? Couldn't he be satisfied of still having his life that had been heroically rescued by her? Perhaps he was scrutinizing her, trying to comprehend of who his rescuer was. Possibly a scrawny, flat-chested girl like her couldn't push him out of the way in time. However, when you are the student of Reborn, there were many possibilities of achieving things.

When the bell rang, Tsuna practically dashed out of her class, not wanting to face or hear the likes of Gokudera Hayato.

The next day, Tsuna boarded the bus with her hair snipped above her shoulders. Her mother had seen her tresses blood-stained and was shocked. Reborn, who _apparently _witnessed the event, explained to her that Tsuna had saved a boy's life. Her mother was a mixture of admonishment and pride at that night, but wasn't feeling quite pleasant when Tsuna's hair was drenched in the red liquid.

Tsuna wasn't so happy about it either. Her newly cut hair made her feel like a boy; the haircut even resembled a boy's head as well! Her once long tresses now reduced to an unattractive mop hadn't lightened her mood either when her demon of a tutor kicked her out of bed. Frustrated and exhausted, Tsuna inwardly grumbled about the misfortunes of attending to school.

One more day, Tsuna inwardly sighed, and then she would be released from her captivity. Two heavenly days of which she would be able to drift off into pleasant slumber without the disturbance of Reborn, of studying, of anything. She would finally discover the long-awaited peace she had desired; a desire that had been established ever since she had been named Dame-Tsuna. And a bit of Reborn tormenting her with his sadism.

Whilst her contemplating was diminishing from her attentiveness to the bus's halt, she stood up from her seat and her eyes widened only to see Gokudera waiting at the crossway. There were speculative, almost precarious, glances tossed upon the boy; yesterday's bystanders were probably examining if the male student presented before them was the same boy who nearly had himself mauled by a truck.

Of course, how many European transfers do you see everyday in Japan?

Perhaps they were hesitant about confronting him to probe of yesterday's hysterical event, not knowing if it would appear rude to him that Japanese were so idle on demanding answers. That was what Tsuna considered to be what the reactions were about; however, that belief was squashed when she took notice of the cigar the boy was aloofly smoking.

Fantastic. Not only his attitude was horrible, but he _had _to be a chain smoker as well. She also was notified by his usual apparel, or per says his new tweaking to the school uniform. Tsuna was rather bewildered to know that he hadn't been pulverized by Hibari _yet. _Surely the prefect was aware of Gokudera's apparent rule breaking. Whatever—point was, Gokudera was an obvious delinquent. Delinquents are to be avoided to ensure from being beaten black and blue.

It's a wonder why the girls in her class _adored _him.

Tsuna exited out of the vehicle, and grew wary of being spotted by Gokudera. It had kept her all night that the boy had been staring had her all day, which disturbed her quite a lot; pondering and going frantic to a minimum of what could he want with her, she was only successful on obtaining an inadequate amount of sleep.

Being cautious of making sure she was concealed by the crowd made her feel rather silly, yet Tsuna really didn't want Gokudera to see her. She stood on her toes to see if he had already crossed the street. When he had, she hastily made her move.

This was now an addition to her routine: avoiding Gokudera.

Tsuna had not been doing it for long considering she started it today, but her reluctance upon meeting the boy made it feel as though she had been doing it for years. It also made her feel slightly paranoid.

There were no ties between she and him; they haven't shared a decent conversation yet. Therefore, Tsuna was presented with denial that she was not being an idiot and it was apparent that he desired to inflict harm—physically or mentally—onto her. It was true that he had continued his staring obsession, and Tsuna recognized the vulnerability of being stalked. It was awful.

Reborn spared an acknowledgement of her when he commented that she had obtained a new "friend", when it was clear that he was indicating "friend" to "creeper". He had also mentioned that she should probably stop seeing her "other friend"—Hibari— because he was going to be a bad influence. It was only unfortunate that act would be inevitable.

On the next day, and the day before her beloved weekends, Hibari confronted her—concluding that it was indeed impossible to avoid him—that he had spoken with Gokudera and was confirmed that she really did save him.

"Oh, that's good," Tsuna said, stifling her urge to run away from the scary prefect. She could even feel stares emanating disbelief and incredulousness from students who were witnessing Dame-Tsuna managing to talk to Hibari Kyoya without screeching in fear.

How could she do it? What super powers was Dame-Tsuna hiding? How is it possible that she wasn't wetting herself?

"Yes, but he is violating a rule," Hibari continued.

Tsuna resisted a groan. "And what is that?" she forced out, trying to not trigger his displeasure.

"He is violating the dress-code."

Ah. Of course.

"And so right you are, sempai." As always.

"Gokudera Hayato…The herbivore will be bitten to death once I have finished disciplining him."

Tsuna inwardly cried as a question returned to her: why was she a victim of dangerous people? It is as if there was a magnet inside of her that draws monsters of terror closer to her. Reborn is a prime example of that.

Sometimes she enjoyed Hibari opening up to her—ah, wait, she was just being delusional on that one. Of course Hibari Kyoya wouldn't easily "open up" to humanity. Tsuna wasn't sure if he was aware of the humanity that surrounds him. Perhaps he wasn't raised by humans, but animals. Like her analogy before, he was a puppy and a shark. If that was even possible.

Tsuna even observed that he was much nicer to animals; always shedding a gesture of kindness to any critter that would baffle any man on earth. Tsuna was bewildered by it, but not so much because of their many shared conversations and encounters she begrudgingly owned.

"Yes, yes. Ah, um, sempai, aren't you busy? I know that you have plenty of things to finish rather than wasting your time on talking to me," Tsuna said, hoping that she didn't sound rude.

His gaze lingered on her face for a while, and then made a dramatic turn. "Yes, I do have more significant duties to carry out." And he left.

"Sempai is so scary," Tsuna mumbled.


	2. Chapter 2

After Hibari left, Tsuna walked into her classroom to retrieve her bento. When she got it, she directed her way up to the roof where most students do not visit.

It was somewhat pitiful, but Dame-Tsuna did not have friends. She didn't have someone to freely share a conversation or sit next to. This was one of the reasons why she finishes her lunch up on the roof.

Tsuna was never able to befriend a person of her age and grade, thus her social skills were pathetic to the extent. As Dame-Tsuna, people were reluctant of associating with someone who lacked athleticism, intelligence, and importance. Or even someone who looked too average. However, she adapted to the deficiency of friendship; she appreciated isolation because it gave her an ideal serenity. Though the sense of loneliness was horrible; apparently her acquaintances, those who didn't criticize her or talked behind her back—with the exception of Reborn and probably Hibari—were the ones who filled her hole of depression.

Reborn persisted on the mild scolding with both amusement and dismay; he didn't approve that she was a loner yet approved that she was. He was disappointed to teach a kid who was socially retarded yet it always brought him pleasure to mock her of her misfortune. Apparently, the man could find ways to torment his students and receive a good laugh at the end. Even this morning he knew that Tsuna despised her new haircut, and had teased her for that as well.

Someday, Tsuna vowed, that Reborn would get a taste of his own medicine. And hopefully karma would be on her side. If not, the accursed man had managed to seduced karma.

Another reason why she eats on the roof is because its location. The sky, the trees, the buildings afar: the sights were pleasant and calming. Also the air that she breathed in always relieved of the exhaustion that had built up in the course of class. Sitting all day really did strain her and escaping the stuffy classrooms was a blissful sensation; days where she was imprisoned with studying and testing was considered to be one of misery's tactic in her book.

Tsuna could see why Hibari also goes to the roof during breaks. Usually, she would notice her sempai lounging around and bathing in the rays of the sun. At first Tsuna was about to break into hysteria when she realized that Hibari often comes to the roof, but figured that he wouldn't really terrorize her unless she disturbs him whilst napping. Sometimes, Hibari would confront her for random reasons: stealing her food, threatening her, insulting her, and disturb her by staring at her.

Hopefully, Tsuna wished, that Hibari wouldn't be at the roof this time. She did not appreciate him taking food from her without permission and wondered why he couldn't bring his own lunch. She also found him to be extremely weird—unless it was a monster's tendency to commit randomness.

Perhaps she was trespassing his personal spot, even if the roof belongs to the school. Perhaps Hibari didn't like the fact that Tsuna continuously returned there while he was trying to obtain peaceful slumber. Maybe that was the reason why he did all those things, but if he really did want her to stop then he should just confess that she was being a nuisance.

After all, Tsuna mused while opening the door, if Hibari felt uncomfortable about her presence he would be the type to be blatant about it. Surely he would have already made it known to her. Then her eyebrows furrowed as she pondered if he had made obvious hints but she was too oblivious to see them. Was that the reason why he stole her food? The reason why he threatened her? Insulted her? Stared at her to make her feel uneasy? She sighed, deciding it would be too bothersome to think about such subject.

She poked her head out the door, seeing the area completely empty. Tsuna smiled, knowing that she wouldn't have her lunch time being disrupted by the scary prefect, and walked to the spot where she usually eats.

Just before she could open the lid to her bento, a voice startled her. "Hiii!" she squeaked, nearly toppling her lunch.

"Whoa, sorry!" Someone stepped out behind her. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"I—well, you didn't have to…" Tsuna trailed off when the person happened to be Gokudera Hayato. Unbelievable. "Um, I'll leave."

"No, wait." As she rose out of her seat, Gokudera grabbed her wrist. "Just…Just hold on for a sec."

She didn't want to. She really didn't want to. But Gokudera was scary and wouldn't hesitate to snap at a girl, so she sat back down. "U-uh, yes?"

The boy rubbed the back of his neck, and then sat in front of her, making the tension worse for her. "You're probably wondering why I'm here," he muttered, looking down.

"To eat lunch here?" Tsuna suggested. And the Italian transfer was also correct; she did want to know why he was here when he never came up here before. Just when she thought she had finally escaped the glaring eyes of Gokudera, he appears out of nowhere and now before her. It was truly upsetting and frightening. Like a mild nightmare, or Reborn teasing her for the fifth time.

What could he possibly want from her? She was Dame-Tsuna! What could she want from an honorary useless girl? And whatever it was, she pleaded that it may be something not much. Better yet, nothing at all. She did happen to save his life, thus was a benefactor to him. _He _should be the one doing something for her than vice-versa.

His eyebrows furrowed. "That's part of the reason why," he admitted. "Actually, this place is far better than any other place here. I didn't know that we're allowed to come here."

Tsuna twiddled her fingers. "To tell you the truth…students are not supposed to come here."

He raised an eyebrow. "Then how come there's a stairway that leads it to here?" he asked.

Good question. Tsuna wasn't entirely sure why, but perhaps prior the years students had the permission to come to the roof. From what she heard, there was a student who accidentally fell off the ledge and died by impact, thus the roof was evacuated. However, the rumor could have been false and created to satisfy the questioning crowd. "I'm not sure. There is a rumor about someone jumping off the ledge, but it's just a rumor," Tsuna said.

"Was the rumor talking about an accidental or suicidal fall?"

"Accidental," she answered.

"That's stupid," Gokudera snorted. "Suicidal I can understand, but accidentally jumped off? What was the guy doing? Dancing on the ledge just to entertain his friends?"

She shrugged. "The person who made up the rumor could have been…someone who…didn't want a depressing death?" she offered lamely.

"I find the accidental one pretty depressing already," he deadpanned. "And since when are deaths not depressing?"

"Deaths aren't always depressing."

"No; they're depressing," he insisted.

"Uh." Tsuna fingered her skirt, and then recalled what Reborn had said to her previously. "Deaths can be happy when a person accomplished his or her dying will."

"But the death itself is still sad because of the things he or she will not be able to discover or see," he said.

"And what if those things were part of the dying will?"

"It's still sad since the person is leaving his loved ones behind."

"So what if the person didn't have anyone?" she unintentionally challenged.

"Then what's the point of a 'dying will'?"

Damn. She frowned. "Oh…Well, there has to be some sort of death that isn't depressing. How about suicides from those who suffer from depression?" she suggested.

"Your statement contradicted your question."

She blinked. "How so?"

Gokudera adjusted his seating posture until he was comfortable, and simply explained, "You said that there must be a death without depression but inquired about a suicide originated from depression. How is there a death without depression when there _is _depression?" He looked at her with those green eyes, almost intimating her and he wasn't even aware of it.

"Uh…" Tsuna's frown deepened. She knew that Gokudera didn't know that he was piercing her with his eyes, but it was like cheating; he was bringing her down by staring at her, but she sighed and sheepishly grinned. "You're really smart. It's no wonder why you're one of the smartest students in class," she sighed, scratching her head.

Unexpectedly, Gokudera inclined his head, as if trying to conceal his blush that was apparent upon his cheeks. "It's—it has nothing to do with intelligence. You just happen to not do well in arguments," he mumbled.

"Um…"

"Argh. Not that you aren't bad at arguments! I'm just saying that…well, you picked an obviously difficult side to settle as your statement." Gokudera, flustered, ran his fingers through his hair. "What I mean is that…"

"I get it," Tsuna said rubbing her forehead. "Um, by the way, why are you up here?"

"Oh, uh, well, you see, I sometimes catch you eat up here during lunch. Wait, didn't you say that students _weren't _supposed to come here?"

"Ah, I did and now you're wondering why I'm up here anyway."

Gokudera nodded.

"It's because it's nice here, that's why."

"Even when you're not allowed up here?"

Tsuna shrugged. "The teachers don't even notice," she said, "and neither does the other students."

Gokudera nodded again, and then said, "You do realize that we just talked about death, right?"

"Heh, you're right."

"Wow. If someone heard about our conversation about _death_, they might think we have problems or something," Gokudera chuckled. Tsuna laughed along, also finding the humor.

When the small chortles quickly died down, Tsuna cleared her throat before an awkward silence would commence. "So…before we got distracted with our talk, you were going to tell me why you're here again?" Then she scrunched up her nose. "You said that you would see me come up here. What about it?"

Before the Italian transfer would answer, he fidgeted in his seat and ran his fingers through his fair locks. This was strange; Gokudera Hayato being _nervous_? Do delinquents even _have _that persona? "Do you remember that day when you pushed me out of the way…and saved me from that massive truck?"

Tsuna blinked. "Y-Yeah…"

"I have something to ask you…"

Oh great, what was he going to say? That she was now somehow indebted to him? That she began made him break a gangster law and she has to get him out of it? Was she _going _to join in a delinquent clan? After all, upon saving his life, perhaps the event was witnessed by Gokudera's delinquent friends. Probably they were impressed by her heroic and daring action. To confront a gigantic truck? That was rather amazing…but still…she didn't want to be part of a delinquent clan!

Did she _look _like she was delinquent material? Was there even a _delinquent clan_? With her minor hysteria and bewilderment, Tsuna commenced to hastily ponder about what the answer would be expected to be said. What would Gokudera Hayato say to her? Was she indebted? Did she make him break a rule? _Was _she going to join a delinquent clan?

Tsuna nodded as encouragement, curious about what he has to say.

"…if you…if you want to be friends?"

What?

"What?" Tsuna blurted.

Gokudera looked even more nervous; a red blush staining his face. "I mean, you _saved _me, and I really admire that 'bout you. 'Cause you were brave. And, well, I just want to be friends with you. That's it."

"A-Are you serious? I—I—really, it was just a reaction that I did. It was so sudden…I'm pretty sure that I never had the intention of saving you because it was so scary!" Tsuna stammered, bewildered.

The Italian transfer shook his head as his expression became serious. "I know, I know. Things like that _are _scary, but you _risked _your life for _me. _That has got to be the bravest thing I ever seen and know in a person. We hardly even know each other, but you still confronted that massive vehicle."

"B-But…" Tsuna, wide-eyed, stared down at her lap. She was surprised by what Gokudera had said, and to be honest, it was rather flattering. She could already feel her face burn from the small speech he presented her. Did he actually find her a figure with admiration? It didn't seem like it; Dame-Tsuna influencing someone in a good way…That _really_ didn't seem like it. But in reality, she managed to rescue someone, and said boy is now in front of her asking for her hand in friendship. "I'm not sure. You must've heard what the others call me, right?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Call you what?"

She bit her lower lip. "Dame-Tsuna. They call me Dame-Tsuna because I'm no good at anything I do. It's true; I am not good at anything. I'm clumsy, horrible at sports, and idiotic—though I am improving thanks to my tutor. And, well, yeah…You probably should reconsider being friends with me just because I did a good deed."

He shook his head. "No, I didn't want to be your friend just only because of that instance. And I don't care if you're that bad at anything," Gokudera insisted. "It's because you're different from the others."

"I'm different?" Tsuna was now confused at his words. What did he mean that she was different? And what was the difference with the exception of being Dame-Tsuna? "How so?"

"Because…because you just are, okay? I don't know how you're different, I just can tell. It's probably because everyone else is focused on the obvious things: school, activities, whose got what or who…You're just different."

Tsuan felt even more lost than before. True, she didn't concern about those things, however, she was concerning on making it out alive per day and hoping that Reborn wouldn't try to humiliate her again. Oh, and his pressuring words—ack! "Study as if it is your dying will" "Dodge my bullets as if it is your dying will" "If you don't study, then I will unleash my hounds of hell, and I don't care if you ran out of your dying will pills" Apparently, 'dying will' would work for him, but not for her.

Anyway, what good would it be if he was her friend? Eventually he would grow bored of her considering how she isn't quite an exciting person and lacks the ability to make conversations. He would even regret thinking that it was a terrific idea having her as a friend. People would be convinced that he actually _liked _Dame-Tsuna out of all people! That could ruin his reputation of being a badass.

"It's better off not having me as a friend," no matter how she differed from everyone else, "because I'm not the type to be best friends with."

"Why?" he demanded while frowning and folding his arms.

"Because…I'm plain. I not good at anything: I don't talk much, I'm not fun, and I practically don't do anything. That's why I…" Tsuna paused, and then sighed, "I never had friends."

"So would you let me be your first friend then?"

Tsuna glanced at him with widened eyes, incredulous of his unhesitant and firm answer. "What?"

"Well…I suppose that's what makes you different: you don't talk much. You always sit alone and look at the window, likely the reason why you're failing at your studies because you don't focus on the lectures. Not that I don't agree. The teacher is such an annoying babbler," Gokudera snorted. Tsuna faintly smiled, nodding in agreement. "Anyway, despite how you don't speak much, I like it when people are quiet and peaceful instead of wasting precious air with their nonstop chatter. I mean, conversations are good and all, but at least talk when it really matters."

"Was our discussions about death something of importance?" Tsuna inquired.

"Absolutely. If we didn't talk 'bout it, then who else would have persuaded you that death is something depressing?"

Tsuna nodded again.

"And you not being fun? Who was the judge of that?"

She shrugged. "What other reason is there for me not having friends for the past fourteen years?"

He eyed her disbelievingly. "Did you seriously not have a single friend? Throughout your life?"

"Yes," she sighed. "Trust me, you're better off not having me as a friend."

"Then would you be happier if you never had a friend in your entire life?"

It was somewhat pitiful, but Dame-Tsuna did not have friends. She didn't have someone to freely share a conversation or sit next to. This was one of the reasons why she finishes her lunch up on the roof. Tsuna was never able to befriend a person of her age and grade, thus her social skills were pathetic to the extent. As Dame-Tsuna, people were reluctant of associating with someone who lacked athleticism, intelligence, and importance. Or even someone who looked too average.

However, she did become accustomed to loneliness, but it didn't mean that she liked the feeling.

Of course she wouldn't be happy if she was going to live her life without any friends. That would be no different than the hell sinners go to after they die. Oh yes, it would be hell. Pure hell. At least she has her family supporting her, but they can't always be with her, especially at school or anywhere else. She would need somebody who would be with her through thick and thin whenever times are dire or bliss. Friends are always there; they don't care what you think or what interests you have because they are willing to let an ear to hear your problems. Why can't people be like that? Be those who she can feel comfortable with rather than regarding what they concern about? Boyfriends, girlfriends, stars, makeup, gossip, cars, etc. Did that really mattered?

Can't she voice her thoughts about something deeper than the surface and express her inner turmoil? For once, just once, can't there be a time where someone is listening to her and _wants _to understand her? Tsuna can always go to a therapist and vent out everything, but it wouldn't be the same. Therapists do their job for a profit, or perhaps they truly desire to comprehend the troubles of the distressed. But it still wouldn't be the same.

But Gokudera…Gokudera actually wants to be her friend. But for what purpose? Because she differed? Because she was quiet and didn't waste precious oxygen? What was the point of having a friend because of those reasons? Shouldn't the meaning "friend" be something much deeper? Nevertheless, despite his assumptions of an ideal companion, it was indeed flattering that he admired her and that he desired to fill her hole of depression. But he was too good for her…and what can she offer when she has nothing to give but silence?

"I think that…I'm sure that I wouldn't be happy if I never have a friend, but…it would be horrible for me to know that a friend left me because he could no longer tolerate having a pathetic friend," Tsuna said.

"What makes you think that I would leave you?" he scoffed.

"What makes you think that you wouldn't?" she countered. Then she stood up and headed towards to the door, but before leaving she said, "I'm sorry, but I decline your offer. Thank you, though."

With that said, she quickly shut the door behind her and dashed down the stairs. While dashing, she thought how she adapted to the deficiency of friendship; how she appreciated isolation because it gave her an ideal serenity. Though the sense of loneliness was horrible—apparently her acquaintances, those who didn't criticize her with the exception of Reborn and probably Hibari, were the ones who filled her hole of depression. She was still living, even though it was painful rising up to each day, but she was still living.

Suddenly, her face made contact with something hard. Tsuna backed up and saw Hibari looking down at her with his eyes sharp as usual. "Herbivore," he said.

"Sorry," she muttered and stepped away so that she could continue running away. Unfortunately, she failed doing so when the older male grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. She turned her gaze to him. "Sempai?"

"No running inside the school building, or I will bite you to death," he warned. He let go of her wrist and began glaring. "Did you come from the roof?"

"No," she lied.

He narrowed his eyes. "Do not lie to me, useless herbivore."

"I am not lying," she lied again.

He stared back, and then averted his stare elsewhere. "Away. If you are late to class, I will bite you to death."

Tsuna did as told, but did not say a goodbye to her sempai. Rather, she felt irritated by his usual confrontation with her. He was rude and hostile; she can never become adjusted to his stoic and belligerent personality, and yet somehow she can. After all, he was a puppy and a shark; what a weird combination…but oh-so true. He was also very different from Gokudera. There were various contrasts that Tsuna could list between the two males. All this time she thought that Gokudera was like any other delinquent, but after being with him on the roof she discovered a whole other person. He was, well, sweet. A sweet delinquent? It was an oxymoron, period. And she was a wise fool.

How did he evolve to someone so…so _new_? Gokudera never behaved like that in front of his classmates! Was that what he truly was? Someone who wanted to be by her side? She shook her head, obtaining a headache from the pondering. If that was true, if Gokudera had an exterior character for the public and his interior character appeared whenever Tsuna was around, therefore, he trusted her. He seriously wanted to be friends with her.

But Gokudera? The one who was popular among the female of the school? The handsome Italian transfer? The intelligent one of the class wanting to befriend the idiotic one? Was this a ploy designed by Reborn? Or could it really be a desire of mere friendship established from being saved from close death?

The offer was tempting.

She could finally be noticed. She could finally be noticed. She could finally be noticed other than Dame-Tsuna. Every girl had their eyes upon the boy, and Tsuna was well-aware of this. She could have Gokudera by her side and girls would send jealous glances at her way. They might even think that they were a couple! Her pride would escalate. She would have them talk to her willingly. She would be content. She would be happy.

No she would not. Yes, the offer was tempting, but Tsuna knew better. She would be noticed, but not as what she would prefer. She knew the girls of her class were quite frightening in a way, and would harass her like how a girl would do. Not only she would be labeled as Dame-Tsuna, but there were several names to title her: slut, whore, bitch, Hayato-stealer… And even if they didn't, but talk to her willingly, it would be focused upon the boy. The idea of she and Gokudera as a couple wasn't very pleasant; she didn't even _like _him that way. Her pride would remain the same. She would not be content. She would not be happy.

But have him as a _friend_? Just a friend? Well, it wasn't as if he asked her out on a date. And it would be nice to finally have a friend. But just a friend.

And besides, Gokudera seemed to be a rather decent person, especially how they accidentally lead themselves into an idle conversation—well, argument—about something pretty funny to chat about: whether all deaths were depressing or not. And even if it was an, um, argument, Tsuna did have somewhat an enjoyable time speaking with him. In fact, for once, she didn't feel shunned or awkward with him. It was as if they were _already _friends. Perhaps it was all right to become friends with him after all.

"What am I thinking?" Tsuna groaned, running her fingers through her short locks. "I already said that can't be his friend!"

When school ended, it was a relief to the girl. During class, she struggled when aware that Gokudera was there; however, she was too distracted by her thoughts to know whether or not he was staring at her like the prior days. It was so relieving when school ended that she practically dashed out through the doors and head home—where Reborn would once again terrorize her, but not that it mattered anymore. What really mattered was how she was going to avoid Gokudera Hayato without making it obvious to the public.

Would he confront her again and ask her to be his friend? Would he _force _her to with violence and threats? After all, he is a delinquent, thus has ways of making people do things for him. Speaking of which, delinquents often do not associate with those who deem to be weaker than they are, unless the lesser individuals would be bullied into doing their homework and buying lunch for them. Would Gokudera do that to her if he convinces her? Was that the sole reason he wanted her to be his friend?

Tsuna shook her head from the thought; she didn't want to worry about the transfer now. She opened her locker and exchanged her shoes. The other students flooded out of the building and to outside; it was soon that Tsuna joined the crowd departed when walking to her path home. While walking, a male's voice hollered behind her. "Hey!" he shouted, but she continued to walk without turning around, not knowing if it was directed to her or not.

"Hey!" A hand clasped on her shoulder and forced her body to the opposite direction. "I was calling you."

Gokudera? "What? You again?" she exclaimed, surprised.

He frowned. "Yeah. Me. Listen, that time up at the roof—"

She fidgeted under his stare. "Did you want me to forget about it?" she said. And he would forget about it too. They would both forget about the situation upon that roof, as if it never occurred. If they agreed to toss away the moment, then Tsuna would no longer be struggling about both Gokudera and his staring—because if he wants to forget then he would have to stop staring at her. Obviously, he would tell her to forget about it. Obviously, he found the memory to be something meddlesome and it would be simpler to go on with life without having to know if she was there wherever he was. That was how Tsuna had felt.

But ever since he declared that he wanted her friendship and saw her with admiration, well…Well, everything became unclear. Her theory about how life revolves was destroyed all because of how Gokudera proved his outer demeanor to be not his entire persona. Her certainty was receding all because of Gokudera and his offer. Should she take it? Should she gift him of her declination? She already refused to accept due to her awareness of one day he would leave her, and that day she would be left hurt loosing her first friend. But how would she know? What made her so sure when she never experienced such common relationship before? Because it was obvious. People were simply attracted to things that are not what she is.

"What? No," Gokudera snapped.

She was taken aback. "Huh?"

"The hell? Forget everything that I said to you? Didn't it mean a thing to you?" Gokudera demanded. "Every word that I said was real. I really meant it."

"But I said that I'm not going to be your friend," Tsuna said. "I appreciate what you said but...I just can't."

He narrowed his eyes. "Why? Because what people think about you? Is that what it is?"

"And trying to avoid the feeling that you would someday come up to me and say that you don't like me anymore." She dodged his eyes and her patience wearing thin. "I'm not a freaking masochist, you know."

"And what makes you think that I would betray you?" Gokudera growled, clenching his fists. "Oh shit, why are _so _insistent that I will?"

"Because it's so _obvious_!" Tsuna stomped her foot, as if trying to make her point. "Why are you so—so—_so _determined about it? You're utterly infuriating!" she cried, throwing her arms in the air.

His green eyes narrowed. "Well, _sorry _for being _infuriating. _You know, I'm just trying to be _friends _here, but you're making it very, _very _difficult," he snorted.

"I already said that I don't want to be your freaking friend," she spat. "Get it through your freaking thick skull."

"And what? Be a fucking loner for the rest of your worthless life?"

"I am not a loner!"

"Says the loner who said she never had a friend in her entire life."

"It's not like I'll be friendless forever; I can make friends—just not you."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah!" she shouted, gritting her teeth. "I can make millions of friends if I wanted to!"

"Then why did you say that you were too boring to be one?" he taunted.

"I—I—I—_shut up_! For the love of—you make _everything _infuriating!"

He clicked his tongue with annoyance. "You're such a hypocrite. Heck, you're even so bad at making arguments too that it's easy to make you tongue-tied."

Tsuna was now red-faced and frustrated. Right now, she wanted to kick the boy and run home, or at least anything to get away from him. And right now, she changed her mind about him; he wasn't like how she thought he was after pondering, he was an incredible complication. And the Italian wanted to establish a relationship between him and her? Ha! The only thing he is conjuring up is a high level of difficulty—definitely the opposite of what friendship should be.

"Yeah, you are so right," she said with sarcasm. "I am a hypocrite. A stinking hypocrite who can't make up a good verbal fight."

"That you are, hypocrite," he said.

"Great. Fabulous. Great. Well, I'll be on my way home—just to get away from your stupid insults, you delinquent!"

"Oh, delinquent? That's the best you can come up with? Delinquent? Not only you suck at keeping your promises and fail at arguing, but you can hardly make a creative offence."

"Bye, Gokudera-san." Tsuna turned around and began to walk.

"Hey, I'm not done talking to you yet!"

"Well I certainly don't want to talk to _you _or see your _face_," she snapped angrily.

"Too bad that's impossible." That wasn't Gokudera's voice.

Tsuna's eyes widened from disbelief. Oh no. Out of all times, _he _had to make his appearance. Right now? "Reborn?" she stammered.

A tall man dressed in black attire and a black fedora gracefully stepped into view. On his hat laid a small green chameleon, strange to carry a pet reptile around. The man was a foreigner—Italian to be exact—but his Japanese was fluent like Gokudera's and the dialect was perfect as well. However, like Gokudera as well, his accent was rather thick and coated his words.

A smirk was plastered upon his face. Tsuna knew that smirk very well. It was his sadistic smirk—or at least she interpreted it to be. She was shocked to see Reborn in front of her instead of napping inside the house. What was he doing now? "Well, well, well. Looks like Dame-Tsuna is having her first lovers quarrel." Causing her havoc.

Expectedly, both middle school individuals blushed and both loudly exclaimed, "We are not lovers!"

Reborn did not bother to stifle his chuckle. "Sure, but I suppose that you can say that she is your savior. Unbelievable, but Dame-Tsuna actually did something right for once—as if rescuing you was her dying will."

Tsuna did a fantastic impression of giving out a strangled cry. "Reborn!"

Gokudera froze. "Reborn?" he repeated after Tsuna. "You mean, _the _Reborn who was once part of Arcobaleno in Italy?" Tsuna glanced at the Italian transfer and to her Italian tutor, confused. What was Gokudera talking about? Did he know who Reborn was? And why did Reborn mention before that she wasn't able to not associate with Gokudera anymore? Was it because he knew that she didn't like him? And…And wanted to make her life as difficult as it already was?

"What? Were you a fan?" Reborn tilted his hat upwards. "Well, don't worry about our little departure. We made up."

"Wait, 'made up'? What do you mean?" Gokudera looked at him with a dumbfounded yet incredulous expression.

"I mean Arcobaleno is back."

Gokudera's eyes widened, far more bewildered. "But how could that be?"

"We settled our differences because our passion of music was high. Want me to elaborate more?"

Gokudera nodded. "That would help me by a lot."

"Sure, kid. We also approved on one goal: to challenge against the Vongola in the tournament."

He gawked. "Vongola? _Vongola_? B-but how can you when Vongola broke up _years_ ago?" Gokudera asked.

"By creating a new generation—Vongola Decimo."


	3. Chapter 3

After Reborn said that, this happened:

"_What?_" Gokudera was surprised, there was no other word to describe his astonishment, and however, one could conclude that the boy was surprised to a certain degree. Tsuna, as from the beginning, was very confused. Lost. At first, she and Gokudera was having an unpleasant, heated argument, but it was settled when Reborn had made his appearance, thus causing the Italian transfer to become flabbergasted for something that Tsuna was not informed of. What had made Reborn so…well known in Italy anyway?

Gokudera gawked. "N-No…Wait, Vongola Decimo? What—what are you _talking _about? Replace the original Vongola?"

"Not really replace. Vongola _Primo _will always be the real thing; Vongola Decimo is merely substituting the band till they reunite, therefore reconciling this unnecessary rampage about all departed bands to come back together even when they plain don't want to. Unfair to the Vongola, however, pretty good for everyone else," Reborn explained, his hand waving in a dismissive manner.

"B-but how is establishing a band with Vongola's name make them come back?"

"Well, Arcobaleno's manager planned this out and entrusted me to do the bits, so I have no real intention of this. But what I can interpret from his motive is that to attempt to lure out the members by recognizing the Vongola name occupied by a completely different group, alerting that the band's identity of being stolen. Like how you wouldn't be pleased if someone pretended to be you and used up your bank account."

"But wouldn't this anger most fans? I know that supporters of Vongola are rather headstrong about their favorite group," Gokudera said.

"Well, once the band proves to be good, there won't be any problems."

The boy gawked once more. "Proves to be good?" he repeated incredulously. "How the hell is that supposed to happen anyway? And—wait, why are you telling me this? What does this have to do with me?"

And me, Tsuna thought but didn't bother voicing it. What did Reborn mean by saying that it would be impossible for her not to see Gokudera again? Did he mean that it was because they were classmates? Well, she could just simply avoid looking at him. Simple as that! Except it was _too _simple to do. Whatever Reborn says would probably contain a stretched implication, especially for a sentence to sound easy to accomplish. Tsuna connoted that there was something going on—it was something that basically wasn't going to be any good for her.

Heck, when does things stop having her included whenever it is related to _Reborn_? It's as if whenever Reborn has a devious plan in mind, it usually has Tsuna involved. The poor girl…It's as if it was Reborn's profession to torment the fourteen-year-old rather than have her properly taught of math equations and such by a _normal _tutor. Why did it have to be her? Why was her tutor so _evil_?

Tsuna's eyebrows furrowed, she was somewhat anxious, and looked at the man. "Reborn, what's going on?" she questioned.

Reborn only tilted his head and smiled.

And then this happened:

"There was a band called Vongola—a very popular rock band that consist of highly talented musicians who performed in their home, Italy. However, said band broke up for reason unknown—could be because they had an argument or financial issues, who knows? They just suddenly parted ways, and no one knows where they are currently at. Due to this, many fans were heartbroken by the loss of a wonderful group and demanded the return of Vongola. But with their location unidentified, a new objective was established, in which the duty was delivered to Arcobaleno's—another band—manager, Timoteo.

"Timoteo was the one who gathered the members of Arcobaleno, persuading us to stay together to carry out this so-called mission of ours. So basically, I lied about us coming back together due to our 'passion of music'. Considering how we were, well, I wouldn't say it would be forced, but convinced by our manager to become Arcobaleno till Vongola Primo has reunited, and then we can do whatever we were doing before."

"Was it tutoring me?" Tsuna asked.

"Now why would I waste my valuable time on that?" Reborn said.

Then why are you here? Tsuna thought.

Gokudera's lips were pressed into a thin line, his jaw tightening from clenching his teeth; his eyebrows were furrowed and his green eyes directed upon his lap. He was thinking and yet was skeptical of the situation. Then he finally said, "Why did Arcobaleno break up long ago?"

"Why? Good question." Reborn brought the mug to his lips, taking a sip of tea and then answered, "Well, it was because of one reason: we didn't get along. Our disagreements drove each other into insanity, thus commencing the departure of the group. Unfortunately, we are back together again."

"When did your band break up?" Tsuna asked curiously.

"Two years ago," Gokudera said in place of Reborn who seemingly did not mind.

Tsuna blinked. "What?"

"I, uh, used to be a fan of several popular rock bands—Arcobaleno and Vongola were one of them." He ran his fingers through his hair, his sheepish behavior returning. Tsuna smoothed out her skirt and pretended not to notice; after all, he did happen to frustrate her with his talent of arguing, therefore her irritation of the boy and how easily he could revert into a foolhardy demeanor as if that could deceive her.

In fact, what frustrated her most was currently when _Reborn _decided to invite the Italian transfer over to _her _house and then up to _her _room. He completely disregarded her protests and carried onwards with her _hateful _classmate leisurely tagging along. Her mother had a different reaction to the situation; she was _ecstatic _about Tsuna actually bringing home a "friend"—or, what the woman's mild belief was, her "_boyfriend_". Argh. It was repulsive to think—or even visualize—something horrifying as that. If it wasn't for Gokudera's annoying insistent actions and his infuriating remarks prior to now, then she probably would have been flustered. However, she was not at all flustered but exasperated of how Reborn always gets his way. Always. And, for some reason, it was _Gokudera _of all people! Why the delinquent and not someone with decency?

Indeed Tsuna could have been overreacting of the complication; everyone receives disagreements from time to time, but it was just so—Argh! Ever since that argument, Tsuna had a sudden urge to run away from the boy or just kick him in the guts whenever she set her eyes upon his face. So in order to restrain this impulse, she persisted to avoid looking at him. If it wasn't for his constant staring during class and the fired determination of establishing friendship, then perhaps Tsuna would consider Gokudera Hayato to be…well…Well, decent would be the wrong word…Gokudera, ever since he had became a student in Namimori Middle School, was often an indecent person.

What could one expect from a delinquent? A hot-headed boy who performs defiance against the school laws is a delinquent—and yet why do delinquents bother coming to school? It's illogical for these stereotypes to come to school if they weren't going to participate in any academic studying. And why do they persist on doing everything their own way? Gokudera styled his own fashion of the school uniform, speaks brashly to his authorities as if they were any other punk, emits a deathly aura, and even _smokes_! The boy is a definite rebellious fighter; nevertheless, it truly did make her have a change of thought of who he actually was at that time upon the roof. It was just too bad that he had to provoke her into a verbal battle.

"So," Gokudera cleared his throat, "since she knows about the bands, are you going to explain of our positions of how it relates to this?"

"Of course." Reborn lifted his mug, swirling the tea. "Considering how you two are aware of the making of Vongola Decimo, you must be wondering who the new band members are."

"Not really," Tsuna said absent-mindedly.

"Dame-Tsuna is an exception and has interrupted the tranquility. As your punishment, you have to hold Leon." Her tutor plucked his small chameleon from his fedora and onto Tsuna's lap. It was quite a misfortune for her since the lizard just started to shed. How was it that he didn't shed on _Reborn's_ hat?

"Gah! Reborn!" she cried.

"Um, as you were saying?" Gokudera said, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah, right. The making of Vongola Decimo…"

"If I may ask a question?"

"Go ahead."

"Why is it the tenth rather than the second?" Gokudera asked. "I mean, there possibly couldn't be nine other Vongola's out there, right? So why Vongola _Decimo_?"

Tsuna lifted Leon, but glanced at Reborn. "Decimo means ten?"

"In Italian, yes. And the reason to why it isn't called as the second was the decision of Timoteo, not mine. I don't even understand why he decided upon ten, which seems to be rather random in my opinion."

"Is this manager of yours creative?" Tsuna asked.

"And just what are you insinuating?"

"Nothing! I was just asking…" Jeez! Tsuna thought, Reborn always picks on me!

Reborn placed his mug down on the table. "The reason why you two are listening to this is because you two are involved," he explained calmly.

Both middle school students were shocked. "What?" they cried simultaneously.

"In order for Vongola Decimo to be established, recruits are necessary." He averted his eyes upon Gokudera, who blinked in reaction. "I don't know why Sustantivo's kid is in Japan, but I suppose it's a lucky coincidence you're here."

Gokudera's eyes widened. "How did you…"

"The Sustantivo family is a well-known prestigious lineage running a top industrial unit. After the band broke up, I took the occupation as an agent for Timoteo, so it was required that I knew some economics of Italy; that includes prominent businesses and their welfare. Fortunately for me, I found myself a potential keyboardist."

"That was a long time ago," the Italian transfer said, eyes narrowing. "I don't play."

"Wait," Tsuna interjected, "what? Keyboardist?"

"Honestly, you need to keep up." Reborn lightly cuffed her while sighing. "Anyway, according to my research, you did stop playing years ago; however, I'm reluctant to believe that you, the talented pianist who has been playing ever since the age of three, lost the ability to play." Tsuna was surprised to hear Gokudera as a talented pianist. It was hard to believe; he was a delinquent, after all, and delinquents do not play classical instruments very often. What they do play were guns, knives, and bombs. But pianos? Not likely. It was impossible for Tsuna to image Gokudera being seated in front of a piano, cracking his knuckles, and have his fingers hovered over the white and black keys.

The said delinquent tensed. "I never said that I forgot to play; I said that I _don't _play, as in that's it. The end of my playing days."

"Even if it means reviving Vongola?"

The question caught him off guard. It wasn't that Tsuna could relate; she knew nothing about music other than knowing there were various instruments that could produce different sound notes. Though she knew that the boy was in a risky decision; hence his outward hesitance of answering. Did he feel that if he declined, he would be abandoning the original Vongola? This popular band of his home country? Tsuna clenched the ends of her skirt and thought of something to say, but her mind was blank.

Reborn noticed the uncertainty of Gokudera. "I'll give you two days to think it over. Afterwards, give me your answer."

* * *

Tsuna lied on her bed on her stomach and her hair was damp from the bath. Gokudera already left, and Reborn went out to do whatever he does. Speaking of Reborn, he hasn't described her position of the situation yet. In fact, why was she, Dame-Tsuna, needed anyway? Wouldn't she hinder the plans rather than be any use at all? She sighed and rolled to her back. She thought about what a mess today was. Gokudera declaring his desire of friendship, their first argument, and Reborn telling them about something ridiculous surely had driven her off course. He didn't do anything yet, but what he said already made her exhausted.

But Tsuna wasn't going to lie; she was curious. Whatever was required from her ought to do something interesting. However, she was reluctant; knowing Reborn, well, limitation is an understatement. She was beginning to be curious about various things: how did Reborn form his rock band, why did Gokudera come to Japan, what made Vongola such a popular band, why did Reborn decide to become her tutor, why did Gokudera stop playing the piano, and much more. But what was the object of her wonderings was what her role of the development of Vongola Decimo was.

The next morning, Tsuna arose with a headache and weariness still clutching on. It was awfully dreadful trying to complete your morning routine when feeling downright exhausted. Of course, it was from not obtaining the amount of sleep she needed. Her mind was still pondering about Gokudera and Reborn, but she was mostly concerned about Reborn.

Ever since her mother hired the man, he was nothing but secrets. Tsuna was proud to say that she got him to open up to her (or that the Italian felt pity for her that she was Dame-Tsuna and decided to express his pity) and know a couple facts about him. However, in general, she doesn't know anything about him at all. How was she supposed to know that her tutor used to be in a rock band?

When she managed to finish getting dressed without a delay, she went down to eat breakfast. Her mother gave her a funny look. "Tsu-chan, did you brush your hair?"

"Yeah," she answered through a mouthful of toast. After she swallowed she said, "Is there something wrong with my hair?" with a curious blink.

"You have a cowlick on the side of your head," the woman giggled.

Just great, she thought. Something that I need the most.

Tsuna never did like bad hair days. That was why she outgrew her hair. Unfortunately, blood isn't easy to remove on tresses.

When she went out, she was surprised to see Reborn standing by the gates. He looked up, a smirk upon his face. "Bad hair day," he stated.

"I'm aware of that," she muttered.

"Also, convince Gokudera Hayato to join the band."

Her eyes widened. "What? Why me?"

"Because you have classes with him, obviously." He cuffed her. "Always asking stupid questions. But what can I expect from Dame-Tsuna?"

"Would you quit it?" She frowned, her hand over the spot that was probably bruised. "Anyway, what's the whole point of this band thing anyway? What's the benefit?" Tsuna walked passed the gates and Reborn tailed behind her.

"I'm sure your referring yourself."

She nodded. "Not to sound selfish or anything, but why make me do things that won't really matter to me?"

"Ever heard of community service?" Reborn snorted.

A cowlick that won't be easy to tame and now sarcasm from the most expected person in the world. "Reborn, please," she sighed, rubbing her temple. Reborn, raising an eyebrow at her, tilted his fedora upwards, and Tsuna saw Leon crawling to the side of the hat. Now it occurred to her that Reborn _always_ bring the little, green chameleon wherever he goes. Was it supposed to be some common fashion trend in Italy? How weird.

"I can't say much, but you are involved nevertheless," he said.

"And how am I involved?"

"Like I said, I can't say." Then the smirk returned to his face. "But I'll make a deal with you."

"Oh no," Tsuna groaned. Making deals with Reborn would be like opening a secret box and waiting for what surprise would be inside. Well, apparently these fun surprises have many compartments—both good (which can sometimes be referred as rare) and bad (the ones that Reborn purposely do). Usually, making deals with Reborn would be the origination of her humiliation caused by Reborn. Hence her reluctance right now.

Reborn, as always, ignored her. "If you manage to convince the members that I choose to be part of the band, then I would give you parts of the information you want." That certainly didn't sound too bad, expect for the part where she had to persuade any stranger.

"Would it be too late if I also wanted another request?" she asked.

"Depends what it is."

"Well, there are plenty other questions I want to ask you."

"Well then, might as well save them till after the keyboardist joins the team."

Tsuna looked at her tutor tiredly. "As you would know, I didn't really have a pleasant conversation with him before you arrived," she stated.

"Then apologize to him."

"Apologize for what? It was him who started the argument!"

"Why are you telling me this? I have nothing to do with it."

Tsuna stifled an aggravated groan, merely casting another frown to Reborn's way.

The nonchalant expression was still there. "I expect you not to take too long with the Sustantivo kid."

* * *

School began as…well, awkward and disturbing.

When she entered the classroom, she noticed Gokudera scowling at his desk. If looks could kill, then the hunk of wood would have disintegrated by now. Acting as if she didn't even see him, she silently walked to her seat and sat down, and then prepared for the first lesson of the day: science.

Oh how she dreaded science. It was confusing and difficult to understand, especially with her science teacher making it difficult to access through his fast spoken words. Tsuna received a bad grade in his class, and it was likely the lowest grade compared to her other classes. She wondered if she would have to repeat the session for next year.

She slouched in her seat and quickly glanced at Gokudera, which was a surprise because by the time she turned her gaze onto him he lifted his head. By a mere second, their eyes met, and then suddenly they turned away. Tsuna, also known as Dame-Tsuna, was awfully embarrassed by the situation that she continuously clicked her mechanical pencil until all the lead came out, and then she accidentally punctured herself. Silly girl.

When the teacher came and the bell rang, everyone was now taking notes. However, Tsuna felt wary and somewhat tensed. She really wanted to know if Gokudera was looking at her again just like last time, but probably not due to the argument that initiated between the two. Tsuna didn't know what to do now; she could either ignore the ponderings with the best of her ability or she could take a risk and see if the transfer student was indeed staring at her.

She decided to pay attention to the board.

Like hell she would look at him again!

Then it was lunch. Oh lunch. Tsuna took her bento and exited the classroom, going to her usual destination. During her climb up the stairs, she contemplated for whose arrival would beat hers, Gokudera's or Hibari's? Now that Gokudera knows where she eats for lunch (which is weird) and he is aware of Vongola Decimo he ought to question her further of the situation. Or perhaps Hibari was lounging on the roof—probably even glaring down at the students, making sure that they weren't doing any funny business.

Tsuna tensed and opened the door, finding the prefect snoozing.

She sighed with relief and grief. Not that she isn't happy that Gokudera's not here, but Hibari's just…well…

Well, at least the Italian transfer isn't here.

Hibari immediately shot his glare to Tsuna. "Close the door, herbivore," he ordered.

"Hai, sempai."

Tsuna settled down against the fence and unwrapped her bento. When she took off the lid, Hibari was already perched next to her, a bored expression on his face. "Don't you ever have anything decent?"

The younger girl resisted rolling her eyes. She watched as her sempai plucked a sausage from the container and plop it into his mouth with a graceful flick. "Sempai, do you want an eggroll as well?" Tsuna snorted.

The dark haired prefect sent a death glance at her. "Do not waste, pathetic herbivore."

What the heck! He always steals her food whenever she's trying to finish.

And just when she's about to chow down an eggroll, Hibari takes it from her chopsticks.

Why doesn't he ever get his own food? Tsuna thought tiredly. Well, at least he's not being so scary…

She molded a portion of her rice into a ball by using her utensils and stuffed a pickled radish inside. She waved it in the air for a few seconds and slowly moved it to her mouth, and then suddenly Hibari swipes her food again.

If this keeps up, I'll get nothing, Tsuna thought. I seriously wonder if I'm tempting him with my lunch.

"Sempai," she said, stifling an exasperated groan, "I really do appreciate that you would stop taking my food."

He merely gave her another glare, silencing her.

Well, so much for a settlement.

The prefect lied down. "If you disturb my rest, I will bite you to death," he threatened, and then closed his eyes.

Ah yes. This is how it usually went: him stealing her food, frightening her, and then go take a nap. Strangely, he didn't give her an insult. Hmm, something good must have happened; he probably pulverized a dozen more delinquents today.

Tsuna finished her lunch, finding herself to be a little more hungry than usual. She set the box aside, stood up, and stretched. The day seemed to be a perfect day to not have school; however, she did have school, which was very unpleasing. Then there was a click behind her and Tsuna turned to see what it was.

The door to the roof opened, revealing a certain somebody. "I would assume that you would know why I'm here," he said once he shut the door behind him.

* * *

NOTIFICATION: Hello fellow readers. Sorry that I'm not very quick at updating-school's been a hassle for me and I recieve little sleep. So yeah. Anyway, I intended on making this chapter longer, however, I realized that it would be a while for me to continue with studying and writer's block dragging me down. So please stay patient with me as I try my very best getting onto the next chapter. Thax a bunch.


	4. Chapter 4

**NOTIFICATION**: Thax a bunch, you guys for waiting! Sorry to say this but my creativity had decreased due to stress and lack of sleep. I don't really want to update a chapter that's, well, lame. I'll try my best to make my chapters more interesting.

ANYWAY! A reviewer asked me why I make every male character into a girl. Answer: I'm just weird like that.

**DISCLAIMER**: Don't own KHR. DUR.

"I'm quite sure that you are right," Tsuna said, rubbing her eye wearily.

"Listen Jyuudaime—"

She blinked. "Jyuudaime?" she reiterated. Did he just call me 'tenth'? she inquired inwardly.

"Long story," he grumbled. "Anyway, I've been thinking lately and have decided to be part of this band Reborn-san mentioned."

"Really?" Tsuna said incredulously, her eyes widened by the revelation. Well that was surprisingly…easy.

"Yeah. And I also wanted to say that I'm…that I'm s-so—hold on, I need a minute."

She watched as the fair-haired delinquent rubbed his temple and grumbled a few Italian sentences under his breath. Once he sighed, he looked at her again, and this time Tsuna found it to be easier to make eye contact with the boy. Strange. Does this mean that her grudge vanished? Well, it did seem silly to hold resentment just because of a petty argument, but still…

"I would like to apologize," he finally said, and his tight expression seemed to relax now that he said what he needed to say.

"E-eh?" She definitely wasn't expecting that. "Um, I guess I'm sorry too."

"No, don't be. I started the argument, and it was me who wanted to be your friend. Kind of ironic," he muttered, scratching his head.

Swelling with guilt, Tsuna bit her lower lip to restrain a sigh. "No, no! I was partially responsible too," she insisted.

The tension was becoming more and more awkward as they continued on, which was recognized by both teenagers.

After a moment of silence, Tsuna cleared her throat, gaining the attention of Gokudera, who was apparently awakened from his stupor. "Well," she began to say, trying her hardest not to fidget, "this is…ironic too."

"What?"

"I mean…I mean, we were both riled up—well, I know that I was—and at the end apologies were given."

"That's what most people would do after fighting." Gokudera raised an eyebrow. "Unless the Japanese keep their rancor for periods of time."

"Of course not! I just, um…" With that, Tsuna threw her hands in the air and sighed loudly. "I officially cannot think."

"That's okay; I think you suck at making your point, too."

Tsuna gave him a dull glance while he merely shrugged. "Anyway," she said after clearing her throat, "there's something that has been bugging me lately, if you don't mind me asking, that is."

"Shoot."

"Ah, actually I have two questions to ask now, but I'll start on the one before." Tsuna paused, and then asked, "Why did you want me to be your friend?"

"Why…?" He appeared somewhat surprised.

"Like I said before, I'm not the kind of person that many would want to befriend, but out of all people you chose me. There must be a specific reason for that." There has to be. Not anyone would want to be near Dame-Tsuna, unless he was not right in the head. Or something of the sort. Surely there was a reason behind it all.

And just before Gokudera parted his lips, Hibari stood up from his lying position and glared at him. Surprised again, the Italian transfer flinched from the sudden act, however, did not recoil like how most normal folk do. Instead, and shocking Tsuna, he scowled at the older boy.

The prefect—ever so graceful—turned his stare to Tsuna, who flinched just like how Gokudera reacted. "Sawada Tsunayoshi," he declared, "I have warned you enough, I will not warn you again." Then he sent one last glare at Gokudera and sauntered away.

"What the hell was that?" Gokudera muttered. "He even knew your name. You two friends or something?"

Tsuna blanched in horror. "Me? Friends with _Hibari_-semapi?" That sounded the most ridiculous thing on the planet. And the Italian transfer was obviously unaware of it. Sure, the sempai steals her food and had accepted her unwanted company, but it does not mean that Hibari and Tsuna were on good terms. It must be because she was accustomed to the prefect's intimidation, or that the prefect grew weary of Tsuna failing here and there and had given up.

"I take it as a no." He frowned. "Then how the hell does he know you?"

"Long story," Tsuna replied with the hung of her head.

"I have time."

"Tell me why you called me 'Jyuudaime' first," she countered.

"Maybe some other day," he said a bit too quickly.

"Then I'll tell you about sempai and me some other day too."

For what seemed like the umpteenth time, a sigh was heard coming from Gokudera's mouth. "By this rate, we'll be sucked into another argument. It's as if we're prone to bicker," he muttered loudly.

I think it's just when we're together, Tsuna thought mournfully. And then she thought how things would turn out now that Gokudera was going to be part of this so-called band that Reborn had brought up the other day. Considering that she too is involved—whatever the case may be—it would be possible she would be meeting Gokudera quite often. But _how _often? She sees him during school and even when she's on her way there, trying her earnest to avoid the scary delinquent.

Tsuna wondered if another verbal battle would erupt between the two and if there would be any room for reconciliation by the time one or the other would lead into insanity. This is really incongruous, this situation. Friendship, affable notions, anti-hatred—all were supposedly presented in the presence of the students, but in the place of such qualities was the discouragement for Tsuna to ever continue. Just realizing that things could not go well in the future made her wish that Gokudera was never involved at all. Or that he had never spoken to her.

Her stupor was interrupted when Gokudera turned around to the door, walking towards it. "W-wait," she called unintentionally, maintaining an un-flinching posture when he looked at her. "Weren't you going to tell me why?"

"Well, since you said you were going to tell me later, then I think it would be fair if I did so too," he replied.

She shook her head. "Not that one. The reason to why you're trying to make me as your friend."

Gokudera paused, his green eyes narrowing for a second before closing. "Have you ever felt as if everything you do is redundant?" he questioned in an idle tone, but because of Tsuna's ignorance she did not hear the tinge of melancholy laced in his voice.

She blinked confusingly. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just answer."

Tsuna pursed her lips into a thin line before answering, "Yeah. But you know…life's just a big cycle and there's nothing that we can do about it."

"You dealt with it." It was a statement. The Italian transfer opened his eyes, a nonchalant expression upon his face. "Then have you ever had a sense of depression before?"

Thousands of times.

When Gokudera noticed the hesitation of Tsuna's response, he did not push her to reply. Instead, he continued on calmly. "You're right, life is a big cycle. Damn to it. There's no point in living, trying to accomplish everything when you're going to die at the end. Everything could easily be lost, but yet somehow we disregard that simple fact and make something out of the short lives we have.

"Sometimes I don't even understand _why _there is shit like competition of who is the bigger boss, or why people merchandize junk. Then I remind myself that the society we live in is a fucking one: people would hardly give crap of how you feel and would persist on climbing all the way to the top in order to be the dominant one. Everyone wants to win before they die and rot. Everyone wants to feel superior."

When the boy paused, as if contemplating something, Tsuna tried to recall the words the Italian had said, attempting to grasp his bitter speech. What was he talking about? Why was he talking about this? What did this have to do with anything? "What you're talking about is irrelevant to my question. What are you trying to get?" was what she wanted to say, but she remained silent, warranting the Italian to proceed with his words.

"This fucking desire for superiority runs through everyone's veins," he spat acidly. "The processes of the continuation of our race perform the same shit—pay someone to assassinate the rival, struggle to be the top dog, make good impression in front of the audience. Basically, it's all futile."

Suddenly it all made sense now. The reason why he seemed to detest the things he was explaining, as if he went through all of. "This is about your life," Tsuna commented automatically.

Gokudera nodded solemnly. "My father was an ass, especially when it came to being the best. All he needed was the perfect home, business, food, clothes, and family, and then he would be happy. But he came across my mother and fell in love. Their relationship made my mother appear as a prostitute, and ashamed of that, my father hid her away but was unaware that she was pregnant with me.

"Afterwards when I was born, the geezers who somehow still have the hold of the lineage made it so that my mother could only see me thrice a month. I was trained to be this all wonderful kid, always obedient without any flaws, and could conduct a lovely composition from an ancient instrument. During those days, my mother would spend her time with me, treating me very differently than how the people of the Sustantivo household would. I never knew that she was my mother; I assumed that she was a close friend to my father.

"It was so when I was about eight I discovered that she was my biological mother. I also learned, on that same day, that she was in a severe car crash on her way seeing me."

Any utterance that Tsuna wanted to voice was lodged in her throat. She merely looked at the boy before her, recognizing her obliviousness of Gokudera's life.

"My life was crappy, and the only times that were blissful were when my mother visited me and when my tutors gave me a break from my studies. But when she out of the picture, my life was even crappier. Never had I experience such pressure for the next three years. So, couldn't handle the expectations or perfection, I ditched being my father's puppet and did whatever I wanted.

"I joined a small mafia, listened to any kind of music, ate what I wanted, but still couldn't relieve the stress. I smoked and lifted away a part of my aggravation, but it wasn't enough. In fact, even though I escaped the snobs that restricted my liberation, I could still see the redundancy. So I decided to move somewhere else, and ended up making accommodations in my mother's old home."

"Which was Japan?" Tsuna murmured.

"My mother was half-Japanese, half-Italian. Unexpected, I know." Gokudera pinched the bridge of his nose. "The people who I came across were bastards, snitches, prisses, morons, and so much more. I thought I would break and get a hernia or something; it was pretty much that bad, to be honest. I could still see it in Japan, except everyone interacts more formally than Italians, it's quite the change," he snorted sarcastically.

"Well, it couldn't possibly be that bad." Could it?

"It gives me a headache whenever I have to bow or ask whether I can intrude or not or some other shit. And the people here gives me looks, as if they never seen anything that wasn't Asian."

"You're a third Japanese," Tsuna pointed out quickly.

"That's true." Gokudera breathed in and a soft sigh came out. "Anyway, Japan isn't that bad. It's nice to get away from my home once in a while, but I think I'll start missing it quicker than I would expect."

"G-Gokudera…-san, I…I don't know what to say, really," she admitted, shrugging sheepishly. "Actually, there are many things that I do want to say, but my mind is blank. How should I say this…Um…I think that…" Tsuna rubbed her lips, trying to stimulate her mind to relocate where she shoved her question or statement in her head. However, her shock was somewhat overwhelming. Never did she even think about Gokudera's wary and strained perspective of life. To think that she had it tough, what about the delinquent? Perhaps she should be more considerate of delinquents from now on.

He raised his hand. "Save it. I know that that head of yours is a slow yet deep thinker, so you can tell me later." She wasn't sure whether she should be offended by the "slow" part or flattered by the "deep" part. Gokudera is very frustrating. "Honestly, you are so much like her," he sighed, shaking his head.

Tsuna was curious of who she was similar to. "Who?"

"My mother."

Oh.

"Everyone tells me that I look so much like my mother, but apparently I have the same temper as my father," Gokudera said. "There was no way that my mother would be anything other than kindness and considerations. She was just so fucking generous; it makes me astounded that how such a fragile woman be paired with an ass."

Opposites attract? Tsuna wryly thought.

"When she visits me, she would sit next to me and listens and stare out of the window as I play the piano. When she's not looking, I would look at her and see her eyes so concentrated on the sky, as if she's in a trance. There would be a smile on her lips and I would wonder what she was thinking.

"When she talked to the servants, maids, or even the geezers, she would be very polite to them while they would hide away their nasty glares. Behind her back, they would gossip. Behind their back, she would compliment. Other times when she's trying to engage a conversation with someone, she would stutter and blank out and desperately try to interest him or her instead of being 'rude' due to her being 'boring'.

"She's brave, loving, and absolutely amazing. If there were to be an argument, she would allow the other to win, and then congratulate the person. If there were to be a monster about to devour children, she would distract the beast and tell the children to run away. My mother was full of compassion, endearing, and yet several despised her very existence.

"She stood out because of her attributes. She did no wrong. She was a victim of classification, but she still stood," Gokudera said softly.

Tsuna bit her lower lip. "What happened to her in the car crash?" she questioned.

"She died," came the blatant answer.

She died.

Before Tsuna was a boy who experienced turmoil in his life throughout. He was restricted from liberation, and rebelled in order to receive it. He discovered the truth about his family and obtained confusion and depression. No matter what, he cannot be satisfied. He even smoked in order to relieve his anxiety; however, it did no good. Gokudera was a sad boy.

Now she could relate to him more, with the exceptions of family matters and perfection. Tsuna was born imperfect, and yet her family loved her nevertheless. Although, she did suffer from the indifference of her school life—her classmates, her teachers, her grades, her athletic ability, and her clumsiness occurred at school more often.

To think that her life was difficult…To believe that no matter what she did, she would achieve nothing. She did achieve something: her determination and hopes. And even though those two qualities were faltering as she was growing up, Tsuna was sure that she had boosted her chances after listening to Gokudera.

At least he retaliated. She accepted the hardships. He denied them and fought his way out of the mayhem, or at least he tried to. She did nothing. She realized something.

Life is tough; it would never cease to be a luxuriant breeze—it was as hard as a wild hailstorm.

But if she did something, if she committed herself to make at least one change, how much would that storm clear?

Tsuna looked at Gokudera, her eyes, unblinking, interlocked gazes with his green eyes. For what seemed to be forever, neither of them spoke. There was no tension in the air. There was no aggravation from Gokudera, or nervousness from Tsuna. Both adolescences felt…nothing. Blank. They were contemplating, really. What was their next motivation? What was their next reply? Whatever it may be, the silence made it easer for them to dig through their thoughts.

Suddenly, the bell rang, indicating as an alarm for students to return to their classes. Tsuna flinched from the unexpected signal; Gokudera pressed his lips into a thin line.

"There were…There were reasons of why I wanted you as a friend," he then said. "I figured that you would understand instead of talk about shit I don't really care about. All I needed was a listener, and you listened." Was that what he wanted? Someone to lend an ear?

He turned away and sauntered to the door, but Tsuna called after him. "Wait! Why did you mention about your mother? Why did you tell me about your life in Italy?" Tsuna exclaimed, her expression weary from the unclearness of the confession. "I…T-to be honest, I don't really understand the purpose what you just told me. How does this all relate you and me?"

He averted his gaze back to her face. "You remind me of her."

* * *

Tsuna was not brave, compassionate, endearing, or anything! If there were to be an argument between her and another, she certainly wouldn't allow the other to win. Instead, she might break a fuse and stomp away due to her lack of excuses (but if it were to be against someone really scary, she would defend herself and then dash away). If there were to be a monster about to devour children, she might have screamed and run away cowardly. And there were several people who talked behind her back, though she did not talk about them. Who would she talk to if she could anyway?

Gokudera said that many notified the similarity of his mother and himself, which would mean that his mother was incredibly beautiful, something that Tsuna was definitely not. Average? Oh yes.

She didn't understand why Gokudera saw his mother in her. She was quite the opposite.

The skies were orange and pink—the day was turning into late evening. Her mother must be wondering where she had ran off to, and Reborn must be tapping his foot in impatience. But what did it matter? Nothing. Tsuna had to think.

She pushed herself off the ground, moving the swing. She watched idly as the children departed from the play structures and to their mothers, leaving the playground filled with only the wind brushing against leaves and voices from afar. Past the trees, Tsuna saw a van whizz by, and it reminded her of when she saved Gokudera from being killed, which was utterly ridiculous to believe that _she _did something like _that._

Tsuna went on with her day trying to forget that moment because it was so _absurd. _But in spite of that, it was true. She did save him. She prevented his blood from being spilled. And somehow, regarding how fast the truck was hurdling towards him, she managed to push him away without being critically injured.

This was also the reason why Gokudera noticed her more. After all, he was curious about his savior, perhaps wanted to know who she was like. Perhaps he already seen her like his mother but didn't bother knowing that she might turn out to be like the many other background folks out there, but that all changed after one push. And that push was tagged along with the declaration of the Vongola Decimo.

This was weird.

Tsuna was supposed to have a boring, normal life, but everything turned upside down. A delinquent in her class turned out to be a runaway rich boy, and her tutor turned out to be a former member of a popular band. Was Reborn the singer? The guitarist?

She was even more curious than before.

Why did Reborn become her tutor in the first place? Why was she involved? Was it really a coincidence that Gokudera was in the city as they? How famous was Vongola Primo? Why did he go to Japan out of all countries? Who was he really? How many other people was she going to recruit? What was the point of all this?

"Hey."

Tsuna turned around too quickly, causing her to fall out of the swing.

Why did she have to make contact with the ground _all the time_?

It makes her wonder how she didn't trip in the middle of the road when she ran to push Gokudera out of the way.

There was a chuckle above her, and she looked up. "That's real cute," he commented, a wide grin spreading across his face.

Tsuna blushed in reaction. This boy, whoever he is, appeared to be a foreigner like Gokudera—he even had the same accent as the Italian transfer and tutor. But he looked older than her classmate, probably by one or two years. And his bangs were cut over his eyes, covering half of his face. Strangely enough, there was a tiara on his yellow mop of hair, making Tsuna suspect that this boy might be a narcissist. Or a fashionista. Boy, she hadn't seen those in quite a while, or would have thought that a boy could be one.

"Reborn's student, right?" the boy said while lending out a hand.

She raised an eyebrow at it, wondering if she should interact with a stranger, but hearing that he said Reborn's name made her a bit better. She accepted it and stood up. "Yeah," she answered.

The grin remained. "And Gokudera Hayato's classmate?"

"Um, yes?"

"Well, if you see Reborn, tell him that Bel is in town, but don't mention that to Hayato, 'kay?"

She nodded, feeling a bit puzzled.

"Thanks." He started to walk away. "We'll see each other again."

After a minute of the blonde's disappearance, Tsuna really wanted to ask him two things: "Are you Italian?" and "Is it becoming a new fetish for Italians to come to Japan?" If it just so happened to be a sabotage to claim Japan as property of Italy, which was cleverly designed by the Italians, Tsuna would swear that Reborn was the one behind it. The commander, she bet.

* * *

"Reborn, I have come to report you two things," Tsuna said, a funny determined expression on her face as she bew her bangs away from her face. .

Reborn sipped his tea.

"There was this guy who wanted me to tell you that Bel is in town."

"Oh brother," Reborn sighed. "What's the other news?"

"Gokudera said that he'd join. Now I get to ask you a question."

"Very well," he said, "proceed."

There were several questions that Tsuna could have asked her tutor, and he would answer without lying. She knew that he wouldn't lie to her. She thinks that he wouldn't lie to her. Okay, she doesn't know if Reborn would lie to her or not, but she would be satisfied by whatever answer. Probably.

She could have asked him why was she involved, why has he come to Japan out of all places, why did he become her tutor, and a newly found question: who was this Bel person?

But instead, she asked him, "What was your role in your old band?"

That was not an important question at all. Relating to herself that is.


	5. Chapter 5

'That's not even important!' Tsuna grumbled inwardly. 'Though…I can't help but be curious…"

Reborn uncrossed his arms and gave Tsuna a strange look. "Don't you have other questions that might be meaningful?"

"I won't be able to sleep tonight if I don't know; the question has been bugging me lately," Tsuna sighed, rubbing her neck.

"I was the singer."

'Why doesn't that surprise me?'

"And the drummer."

'Okay, totally unexpected.' She raised her chin, eyes widened from the added statement. "You were…both?"

"I was the only one who could sing. Colonello, a guitarist of the band, insisted that he should. We let him tried, all right, but the results were similar to a yowling hybrid between a cat and a moose," Reborn chuckled.

Reborn as a singer _and _a drummer? Was that even _possible_?

Tsuna imagined the Italian man on the stage in front of the rest of the band, playing the drums and singing to the microphone that stood next to him. Not only did that seem like a difficult task to attain, but it would be a pretty strange sight to see. Drummers were usually in the far back; guitarists were the center of the attention, mainly.

"I bet it was hard being a drummer and singer at the same time. By the way, wouldn't the pounding against the drums vibrate through the microphone?" Tsuna asked curiously.

"When we came to the conclusion that I was the only one who could sing, I had to abandon the traditional kit and use this guitar-like device that has buttons. I would wear it like a guitar and press the buttons to produce the type of beat I wanted," he explained. "It was actually a proto-type that whose idea was a man in America."

'Oh, so...so I guess that Reborn will never have his sense of humility, huh?' Doing that in front of a large crowd would be embarrassing.

"Since that was a useless question, I'll allow you to ask me another one," Reborn offered.

Tsuna's eyes widened. "Really?"

"No." He pressed a button that came out of nowhere, and Tsuna found herself flying towards to the basement—wait…they didn't have a basement…

/00/

"Jyuudaime, ohayo!" Gokudera greeted her, bowing respectively.

"…Erm, you too…?"

Her neighbors were giving her incredulous expressions, and Tsuna couldn't help but feel self-conscious of the attention. 'So automatically, Gokudera considers me as a friend right after telling me his story. And apparently I am similar to his mother, in which is downright outrageous,' Tsuna thought wryly. 'Pity the fool'. And herself as her neighbors watched the girl while being very, very bewildered by the fact that Dame-Tsuna was walking with a foreigner.

Tsuna may not like the Italian boy quite so, but she did have sympathy for him due to his blind reasoning of wanting to befriend her. She, after all, was _Dame-Tsuna_, and had tried to persuade him that she was not a good choice as a friend. But did he listen? Not one bit. In fact, he _incessantly_ thwarted her reckoning and _infuriated_ her. How she managed to sane she would never know. How Gokudera had a one-eighty degree turn on his character she would never know.

"Jyuudaime, you're going the wrong way," Gokudera called after her. "The bus stop is that way."

"O-oh, right, thanks Gokudera-san," she muttered, changing her direction. 'Great, now I can't even think straight when he's around. What if I get involved into another car crash and with _my_ blood staining the roads this time?'

They embarked the bus and took the available seats. Tsuna stared at the window, idly viewing what was going on outside and trying to ignore the boy's presence. It was…odd having someone sit next to her, Gokudera more so. She was inured to having an empty seat next to hers, nobody wanting to sit by a girl who nobody cares at all. However, Gokudera being _right next to her _was…ahem, weird. And with him inside the bus, overall, was definitely not a plain sight to see. A delinquent nevertheless, he still looks as if he belongs in a limo, not a dirty bus.

"Wait a minute," Tsuna gasped, "you never take the bus!"

Gokudera gave her a questioning look. "So?"

"S-so—so why are you _here_?"

"I've often seen you ride the bus, so I went to your house and went with you," he said, as if there was nothing strange in doing something like that.

"…How do you know where I live?"

"Reborn-san."

'…No way…' Tsuna held her head in her hands, anguishing the day when a brash boy suddenly decided that she was fit to be his friend right after she rescued him, thus reminding him of his _mother_—which is _still_ ridiculous. Furthermore, it had to be a rather determined one at that—determined enough to acquire information of where she lives and ride a bus with her.

Normally, loners—such as Tsuna herself—would cry with happiness of the day when an especially acknowledged person wants to befriend them. In Tsuna's case, she was feeling contrary of the situation. She had experienced far too much betrayals of her previous 'friendships' and had been fed up of depression. Though she had her longings of a companion, she was also wary of the consequences and found no use of one.

She just hoped that Gokudera wouldn't be too disappointed after realizing what a mistake he had made.

"Jyuudaime? Are you okay?"

Now the question is: Why is he so forward to this 'friendship'? Could it really be because she was a refreshing reminder of his deceased loved one? As heart-wrenching as that is, Tsuna didn't find the logic in that.

"Jyuudaime?"

'Okay, that does it.' She raised her head and looked at Gokudera, frowning. "Why do you call me that?"

He blinked. "Huh?"

"Jyuudaime! What am I a tenth of for? Is it because of the band's name?"

"I call you Jyuudaime because Jyuudaime is Jyuudaime," Gokudera snorted, as if it's common sense.

Tsuna didn't get it at all.

"My name is Tsuna. I'd appreciate it if you call me that," she sighed, massaging her temple.

"_Jyuudaime is Jyuudaime_," he said firmly.

'Alright, alright. Scary…' She nodded with a chary and weary expression, which didn't seem to affect the boy. "C-can you tell me why you call me that?"

"You really don't know?"

She shook her head.

"Well then…I guess it'll be appropriate for you to ask Reborn-san."

'This—this _infuriating_ jerk!'

Normally, whenever an especially acknowledged person wants to befriend a loner, that person shouldn't be someone as infuriating and insufferable as Gokudera Hayato. She didn't care that his good looks could charm her mother, who insisted the boy to come inside and have tea even when that could make them late for school, or that his accent was kind of cute. No. Her patience was already wore thin because of Reborn (and his existence within her house, generally), so she had no tolerance for the Italian transfer.

And yet his dangerous aura rendered her to be submissive.

'Why', she wailed inwardly, 'is it that I can, at the least, handle Hibari but not this guy? Hibari is obviously much scarier than a delinquent who happens to be a former pianist. Yeah, that's right, Gokudera used to play the piano, and I'm being frightened by a former pianist who still wants his dead mommy.' Tsuna's thinking may be insensitive, but it can be understandable seeing how she's having an _overly_ hysteric mental attack.

'Awuaaah! _Why me_? _Why me_? I already have _Reborn_. And he's Italian. And so is Gokudera. _Why_ do I have such _awful l_uck with Italians?'

Yes, why Italians?

This is weird.

/00/

A couple more seconds until they reach for their destination, Gokudera managed to get inside in time and Tsuna was merely a few steps away.

'Almost there.'

"Herbivore."

'Ah crud…'

"Yes, sempai?" she said while turning to the older boy.

He narrowed his eyes. "You're late."

"No I'm not! I'm just—"

The bell rang.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Sempai, why did you stall me?" she deadpanned.

"Don't come up with foolish excuses, herbivore. For being late to class, you shall be bitten to death." He exposed his tonfas.

More often than not, Tsuna would have paled and be frightened. More often than not, she wouldn't have _Gokudera_ badgering her. More often than not, she would be wallowed up in isolation than exasperation. And more often than not, her exasperation wouldn't be tested anymore than it needs to be when the prefect stalled her from getting inside class in time.

This was ridiculous.

Tsuna crossed her arms and sighed. "Okay sempai, do your worst," she grumbled glumly.

"…Your response is different than usual, herbivore."

'Fantastic. Gokudera entitles me as Jyuudaime while Hibari gives me herbivore, and everyone here calls me Dame-Tsuna. I do wonder when I'll receive an appropriate nickname,' Tsuna thought vaguely as she watched the older boy close in the distance between them.

He looked down at her with an inquisitive eye and she looked up at him while wishing that she could go home. Finally, he made his move: he tapped her nose.

'What?' Her expression showed that she was confused, causing Hibari to snort in amusement. '…Maybe if he exchanged touches he can make me have a blemish…?' At that thought, Tsuna wiped her nose with her sleeve to get rid of Hibari's transferred oil. Tsuna did not want to have a blemish on her nose.

"Go to the nurse's office," he ordered. "Testu has requested for you."

'Kusakabe?' Kusakabe was Hiabri's right hand-man, the vice president of the Disciplinary Faculty. He wasn't as intimidating as Hibari, strong and a merciless leader nevertheless. But he was someone who Tsuna can stand—he was _nice_ at any rate. However, he wanting to see Tsuna was surprising. They didn't exchange words much compared to Hibari and Tsuna having their own minimum conversations. The vice president was aware that Hibari disciplined Tsuna from time to time and never ceased telling her that she was a special one—Tsuna agreed taking into account that her entrails were still very much intact.

"Why does he need me?" Tsuna questioned, but was silenced by a frown.

"Do not ask irrelevant questions. Just go."

"E-eto…what about class?"

"I'll take care of that."

"Um, okay then."

Once entering the office, she buried her face in her hands when Reborn was also in the room. They seemed to be having a conversation until Tsuna made her presence. "Ah, Dame-Tsuna, just in time," Reborn said.

"Hello, Kusakabe-sempai," Tsuna greeted the older boy.

"Sawada, I see that Kyo-san hadn't done anything extreme with you. You are very lucky," he said, smiling.

"Indeed that I am," she muttered. "Anyway, you needed me?"

"Actually, it was this man who requested for you. I was just repaying him." He stood up. "Well, I'll see you around then." He left.

Tsuna turned to Reborn, who only smirked and tilted his head to silence her upcoming question. 'Fine. Be like that.' "You have something important to tell me?" she asked the other question she had in mind.

"Yes I do. Here, hold Leon." Tsuna bit her lip so a protest wouldn't come out. She didn't like holding Leon.

She watched as he dug through his suitcase, then pulling out a jar of live beetles. He opened the lid and the bugs flew liberally out of their container, but were eventually digested as Leon's tongue snatched them one by one into his mouth. Tsuna could only grimace at this.

"You made me hold Leon because he had to eat," she said gravely. "Are you trying to piss me off?"

"It's my duty as a tutor. What would I be if I were to be so inept?"

'At least that way your sanity would be very much intact.'

"And the reason why I'm here"—_slup! _Leon grabbed another beetle and crunched hungrily—"is to talk about Vongola Decimo's next recruit."

"I can feel Leon digesting," Tsuna whimpered, "and it feels gross."

"Pay attention." The Italian man whacked her with a rolled up magazine that seemingly came out of nowhere. "You are to alternate his career to a member of the band, got that?"

Tsuna rubbed her head. "He already has a career?"

"He basically has his career path set, but that can be arranged. He is in your grade, though obviously much more talented than you are." Reborn hid a chuckle when Tsuna scowled at him and when she sighed when Leon popped another beetle into his mouth. "I hope you'll be okay persuading Yamamoto Takeshi."

Her eyes widened. "You want me to recruit _him_?"


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: **Smiles doesn't own KHR. DUR. Tralalaa…

**NOTE:** Remember! Gokudera and Tsuna are currently in a love/hate relationship! As for Hibari and Tsuna, Hibari is ambiguous and Tsuna is oblivious. It'll be the best love triangle in the world—until I change my mind.

* * *

"You must be kidding me," Tsuna exclaimed, staring at her tutor with disbelief. "Yamamoto Takeshi? The baseball and kendo prodigy? The son of the world's famous sushi chef? The person who would be very difficult to meet because of his adoring fans? _That_ Yamamoto Takeshi?"

"I see that I don't need to inform you," Reborn said.

"Reborn, that guy isn't even in Japan—do you expect me to take a flight to _New York_?"

"He and his father returned and now they are currently vacationing in Namimori."

"Oh…well, there's bound to be some tight security, so how do you suppose that I'll worm my way through that?"

"Dame-Tsuna, who do you think that I am?"

"Okay, never mind," she grumbled, running her fingers through her disheveled hair. "But why him out of all the other people who can play an instrument than someone who doesn't?"

"You can ask me after you recruit him."

"But—"

Reborn held out a device that had a big red button—which popped out of nowhere—and pressed it down. All of a sudden, Tsuna could see nothing but green…and scales and yellow eyes and pointy teeth…

* * *

As far as Tsuna could tell, her typical lifestyle was going astray, and she had to blame it all on Reborn. He, after all, was the one who brought her into this mess—the band recruitment, the peculiar encounters with peculiar people, and the havoc. However, her life wasn't exactly as standard to start with: Her father vanishes long periods of time and emerges out of nowhere, staying at home for a few days and vanish again. Strangely, she was a total klutz whereas her parents didn't appear to have two left feet. And she happened to attract scary people, namely Reborn and Hibari and Gokudera.

In Tsuna's case, this was as typical as it can get. Now with these later episodes of trying to establish their very own Vongola Decimo, it was as if her life was turned upside down. It didn't quite make sense, but, without her realizing right away, it was fun having those occurrences. Crazy, yes, but fun nonetheless.

One of the strangest people she had met thus far was a few days before she met the boy who she was supposed to recruit. And that eccentric person had driven Tsuna to blame Reborn of more of her misgivings.

"To the EXTREME!"

Tsuna jumped and looked at the strange boy who just exclaimed loudly. Said boy was dashing past her while holding a ramen carrier and wearing a white uniform.

"Weird," she murmured.

"Man, I know. What an idiotic person," Gokudera snorted next to her.

Her eyes widened as she faced him. "H-how—when…!"

"I'm here to walk you home, Jyuudaime," he declared proudly.

"I-I didn't even see you near me!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Your attentiveness to your surroundings must be poor at best."

'Fantastic, another Italian to comment on my lack of attention to detail and all that other crud.' She sighed through her nose. 'But more importantly, he's been a nuisance all day at school that I'm not sure how I managed to be sane.'

Frankly, Tsuna and Gokudera's conversations consisted of infuriation—in Tsuna's part—yet some were at the least pleasant. The pleasant chit-chat was most appreciative; on the other hand, the disagreements took most of their time together. Though with the girls always trying to butt in between them (Gokudera's determined admirers, obviously) that could be restated. Tsuna didn't mind the interference, excluding the pause for the girls to send a glare at her way.

'He's been trying to do everything with me: walking me to school, conversations, eating together…I'm not sure if Gokudera can keep from being bitten to death if Hibari shows up on the roof again. Anyway, Gokudera seems to be trying—he seems to be overly resolute about this _friendship_ of ours,' Tsuna thought, half of wry and deliberating intentions.

"C'mon, Jyuudaime," the transfer student called to the girl. He was already standing a few feet ahead of her.

"C-coming," she called back weakly. 'Can't I even think in peace?'

Gokudera decided to follow Tsuna home, even going far as to _enter_ in her home. Her mother didn't seem to mind—actually, she was overjoyed, and kept sending her winks. Tsuna was obliged to correct the woman, to end those foolish thoughts that Gokudera was her _boyfriend_ or something ridiculous as such, but made no move to do so. Must be because Gokudera was standing right next to her and he could hear what she would say.

She made her way upstairs and to her room, and Gokudera was still following her.

"…"

What was he planning to do? Have a study session? Talk to her some more? What did he want now?

"Later then, Jyuudaime," he said, turning away.

"E-eh?" She blinked. "You're leaving?"

"What do you want me to do then? I walked you home, don't friends do that?"

"…But all the way to my room?"

"Don't friends do that?" he reiterated, raising an eyebrow.

"…"

Once he finally left, Tsuna dropped to the floor after tossing her book-bag on her bed, heaving a sigh. Reborn entered her room wearing a smirk, as if mocking the eventful day in school. "Your cowlick is still up, Dame-Tsuna."

"Tease me later. Time for algebra."

"Oh no, that's the easiest subject ever."

"Well I still need help."

"Because you're an idiot."

"…"

At this moment, during Reborn's instructions and Tsuna's blunderings on simple math equations, someone weird was standing on a tree branch outside of her window. Her eyes caught a blur of something green, and when she lifted her head to focus on the window her gaze met with a pair of green orbs. A small foreign boy. A small foreign boy who had a huge afro, was wearing a cow-printed footsies pajama, and had a pair of gilded horns protruding from the thick mass of his hair.

Honestly, he looked like an idiot. Little boys normally don't look so moronic.

"Oi, Dame-Tsuna, what does x equal," Reborn repeated.

She turned back to him. "Huh? Oh, um, four?"

"Wrong." He thwacked her with a wooden spoon.

From the corner of her eye, she watched a grin spread across the boy's features as he whipped out a…a bazooka. No, wait, it was a rocket (apparently, when he pulled the trigger flames burst from the end and drove the rocket to the air.) She couldn't help but watch this with dread, wondering vaguely whether the rocket would crash through the window and the boy smacking violently against the wall of her room, his eyeballs popping out of their sockets and blood spouting from his mouth.

What was he doing with a rocket in the first place?

Ironically, it happened as what Tsuna predicted, excluding the gory part. But in Tsuna's luck, the rocket blew open the windows (yay, no shards!) and crashed into her wall (hot damn!). Smoke wafted into her nose, and she coughed, trying to wave away the floating ashes. When the smoke had cleared, she saw the boy trying to stand upright before her and Reborn.

He eventually became aware of them as he faced them. "Haha! I, the great Lambo-san, make my introduction! Grovel under my feet, worms," the child demanded, laughing haughtily.

"…" This really wasn't Tsuna's day.

"And so if you divide this, what would x equal," Reborn said, totally unperturbed.

"E-eh? Oh, u-um, three."

"Correct. Now to the next equation."

If Reborn was ignoring the kid that was about to erupt into tears anytime soon, then there should be a good reason for it, right? Tsuna took this method into consideration and decided that she'll do what Reborn was doing: ignoring the child. But she didn't have much restraint as her tutor. After all, when a foreign child (from Italy, she bet) crashes into your room with a rocket and is on the verge of snot and tears, you'll be itching to do something. Like ask the child what the hell is he doing in your room—because, seriously, you don't want him here.

"Tolerate," the boy whimpered. After a moment, he seemed to regain his confidence as he exclaimed, "I must've been unclear. Ahem. I, Lambo-san, the age of five, am here to challenge Reborn!"

'Oh cripes,' Tsuna thought.

"If you distribute this number, what would the answer be?" Reborn said, pointing to the numbers with a pencil.

"X would equal eight," Tsuna said, attempting to forget that there was a loony in her room.

It wasn't that easy, apparently.

"Pay attention!" the child ordered. When he did not receive what he wanted, he threw a three second tantrum and lunged toward Reborn with a grenade in his hand. "Fine then!"

Before Tsuna could cry out, Reborn grabbed the boy's afro and tossed him out of the window.

"…"

"Eight is correct. Hmm, you're certainly improving, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn mused.

"A-ano, Reborn, did you know that little boy?" Tsuna asked weakly.

"No I don't."

"B-but he knew you!"

"You know well that I don't associate with toddlers." With that said, he whacked her with a rolled up magazine.

When the math lessons were over, Tsuna's mother had called for her. Going downstairs, she saw the same little boy clutching onto the leg of her mother, green eyes watery and face slobbered with snot and tears (oh gross). "Tsu-chan, Lambo-chan here says that he knows Reborn-san. Did they have a disagreement?"

"I, uh, well, you can say that," Tsuna muttered.

"Oh dear," Nana sighed. "Can you please take care of things? I have to prepare dinner."

"But Mom, I—" Suddenly, the kid latched himself onto her leg. Tsuna cringed, hoping that the snot won't be rubbing onto her pants. Sighing, she awkwardly patted his afro and said, "So do you want me to bring you to Reborn?"

"Bwuahhaaa!" wept the boy. Obviously, he didn't want to see her tutor anymore.

"Okay! Okay! H-how about we go for a walk?"

He nodded, then wiping his nose onto his sleeve and transferring that slime onto her pants.

'Of course it has to happen to Dame-Tsuna. Of course.'

During their walk, they had stopped at a field to take a break. With the sun setting and the winds blowing gently, it felt like a lazy evening. She stretched her legs onto the grass and letting out a yawn, and then motioned to the child to sit next to her. As Tsuna was about to ask him a question, he went straight for the answer, "I...I always wanted to be a singer in a band."

"…Is that so."

"Yeah. It's my dream to be super popular and get all the girls and mock the ugly nerds."

Tsuna didn't know what to say, but luckily she didn't need to.

"That's why I, the great and handsome Lambo-san, had transferred from Italy to Japan to challenge Reborn!"

"How did you know Reborn was in Japan?" Tsuna asked, curious.

"Because my nanny said so. She knows a lot of things about him because she's a fan." Lambo then picked his nose absently. "But I think that it's weird. She has tons of photos of him posted all over the walls in her room and listens to his songs over and over again."

'Well, I guess that makes Reborn popular himself,' Tsuna thought with amusement.

"But you should've seen her when Arcobaleno had broken up! She was crying for days! Daddy made her happy by saying that he'll promise to try to get them together again, but I think that he was lying," he said with a snicker. "Daddy doesn't like that kind of music; he likes the boring kind with the pianos and violins and other stuff." He wiped his booger in the grass.

'It's kind of easy cheering up this guy.' Tsuna brought her legs together and crossed them. "So is your daddy here in Japan too?"

"Nah, just me."

"Oh, so your nanny…?"

"Nope! I came here all by myself," he said proudly.

Her eyes widened. "Wait, so you have _nowhere_ to stay?"

"…" Lambo began to cry. Again.

'So easy to cheer up and so easy to depress.'

After assuring the boy that he could stay with her (she wasn't really thinking), his cries ceased. On their way back, Lambo was holding Tsuna's hand (the one that's clean) while Tsuna was thinking how to solve the predicament. Lambo couldn't stay here—he needed to go back with his family, go back to Italy. But how? Anyway, from what Lambo had told her, he had came to Japan while leaving a note, so there's not much to worry. But then again…how legible was a five-year-old child's handwriting?

Tsuna sighed. 'I'll resort this with Reborn.'

"By the way, who are you?" Lambo asked.

"O-oh, sorry that I didn't introduce myself earlier. I'm Tsuna," she said with a smile.

"Nice ta meet ya, Tsuna!" He grinned. "You can call me Lambo-sama."

"Hehe. I'll, uh, think about it." Then with a pause, Tsuna asked, "I've been wondering, how did you get your hands on a rocket and a grenade? Isn't that dangerous?"

Lambo giggled. "No! I've been trained with those sorts of things since I was three! Pretty cool, huh?"

'Just what kind of family does Lambo have?'

Tsuna and Lambo arrived home, ate dinner (made by Reborn, which made Nana go giddy), took a bath together (Lambo was certainly a splasher), and changed into pajamas. Lambo's cow outfit was sticky with snot and candy gunk so Tsuna threw that into the laundry hamper and gave the boy her old footsies pajamas from when she was about his age. He didn't seem to mind the pink kitties designed on it.

Then she tucked Lambo in her bed. Almost immediately, he had fallen fast asleep. Tsuna smiled at this and snuck away to Reborn's room. Reborn looked up from his book, mildly surprised to see Tsuna. "And what brings you here?" he said.

"It's about Lambo."

She had told him what she knew, and Reborn nodded, for once taking her seriously. "I see. I'll do some research. As of now, you should get some sleep."

"Thanks Reborn."

* * *

"Tsuna! Wake up!" shouted Lambo who was jumping onto her bed and kicking her gut.

Her eyes shot wide open. "Gaaah! Lambo! Get OFF!"

Having the brat around for a few days was exhausting. It was kind of nice to experience having a little brother, but exhausting nonetheless. He was her alarm clock, little monster, and bundle of joy. But it was more like a twerp running around in a silly cow-printed garb and carrying dangerous weapons, with other mysterious items hidden away in that afro of his. Just yesterday, Tsuna had found a brochure typed in German and other sets of gilded horns. Oh, and a porno magazine.

"JYUUDAIME!" Gokudera called from the other side of her door. Really, why does her mom let _him_ in?

"Ach! It's Aho-dera!" Lambo exclaimed.

"Oi, what are you doing in Jyuudaime's room, you brat?" Gokudera shouted.

And yes, the two boys have met. It was quite interesting. Interesting indeed. Yes.

'Italians,' Tsuna thought with a dread. Speak of the devil, Reborn entered her room and flipped her over, making her land onto the floor with a loud thud. "GAH! My spleen!"

"Time for school, young lady," he said.

"I'm in too much pain."

"Then I'll push this big red button." He was holding a big red button.

"I'm up!" Tsuna quickly got dressed and met Gokudera downstairs.

"Took you long enough," the transfer student snorted.

"Sh-shut up!" she snapped.

They displayed such an adorable love/hate relationship, much to Nana's and Reborn's amusement.

* * *

This morning was…okay.

"Kyaaa! Takeshi-kuuun!"

"Y-Yamamoto-kun! A-ano!"

"It's Yamamoto-kun!"

It was great that Yamamoto Takeshi had transferred to her school because that way recruiting him would be simpler than to break into his home (what was she thinking!), however there was a big obstacle in her way: girls. Regardless of her being a girl herself, these girls were plain annoying! How is she going to get to the boy when they keep flocking him? And squealing and screaming and hollering and crying out for him?

It was madness.

Her luck went reverse when Yamamoto was now her classmate. Ordinarily this would be a good thing, but with the room being unbelievably crowded with fans, it turned out to be a bad thing. Years of being a loner, Tsuna has developed a taste for seclusion, but being so not secluded was unbearable. And everyone is breathing in her air! Does she really have to deal with this? Does she really have to breathe in someone else's carbon dioxide? Peeved, the girl stomped out of class, tripping along the way.

"Hahaha! How typical of Dame-Tsuna," the students laughed.

Yeah, the morning was just _wonderful_.

Gokudera was nowhere to be found, and Tsuna was just fine with that. If he was here, he would have caused trouble, and Tsuna wasn't fond of trouble. She picked herself up and walked on, only to have her foot catch a leg of a desk, hence the tripping. Again.

"Bwuahahahaha!"

"Dame-Tsuna is such a klutz!"

'Dangflabbit. Is it because I'm tired? I'll get Lambo for this.' As Tsuna was internally swearing, Yamamoto pushed away from the crowd and hoisted her up by grabbing her arms. "There you go," he said, smiling charmingly. "Are you okay?"

Tsuna had seen pictures of the sports prodigy before and admitted that he was pretty darn good-looking, but never would she have thought that she would see him up close and personal. He wasn't uniquely gorgeous as Gokudera, though he had his own way of captivating her (not that Gokudera had ever captivated her). Whereas Gokudera had his enchanting green orbs, Yamamoto's eyes were hazel, perhaps with amber flecks. They reminded her of milk chocolate, though chocolate isn't amber, but they were warm and creamy in a way that made Tsuna's legs go weak.

His hair was black and short, making Tsuna curious as how it would feel to run her fingers through it, feeling the spikes ticking her skin. He had a cute smile—oh yes, it was very cute. And his atmosphere was refreshing too. It was so different with Gokudera and Hibari, who hardly emanated such friendliness and warmth. Oh yes, it was so different, and it was nice. Hmmm, very, very nice indeed.

And _maaan_, she could practically see his muscles through that uniform.

Snapping out of her daze, she pushed herself away from Yamamoto and thanked him, then clumsily scampering out of the room.

'What am I doing!' she cried inwardly, running in anguish. 'I don't time to be dazzled by some pretty boy! Even though he was unspeakably pretty! In a manly way!'

Of course, Yamamoto Takeshi was not pretty. He was _hawt_.

'NO! Don't think about it, Tsuna!'

And then she crashed into a wall.

"Herbivore."

'Ah crap. It's Captain Carnivore.' Rubbing her sore forehead, she faced her sempai. "Hai?"

"I have succeeded in punishing fifteen herbivores today," he said, looking stoic as always, unlike Yamamoto's cute smiley face.

"I see."

"Tetsu has reported to me that the percentage of graffiti has lowered." Hibari is still stoic.

"Ah."

"However, I fear that there will be rebellions." Still not smiling.

"Uh huh."

"But I am confident enough that my men and I will handle these pathetic herbivores." Still not cute.

"Yup."

"And bite them to death," he finished, raising a clenched fist.

'Why does he make these pointless talks with me?' "Well, that's great, sempai," Tsuna said, giving him the thumbs-up. Hibari nodded curtly and ambled away. 'Gah. He's such a joy stick.'

* * *

It was seven o'clock P.M. and Tsuna was trying to hex Reborn with her mind.

Previously: _"Dame-Tsuna, you are to recruit Yamamoto Takeshi by tonight." "Huh?" "I'll help you break into his manor." "W-wait, what?"_

And there you have it.

Tsuna has actually gone on spy missions before. Why? Reborn, that's why. Enough said.

"Reborn, you will be the death of me," she grumbled for the umpteenth time. "Man, why is my bag so heavy?"

Reborn probably sent her something useless, like a brick. Setting her bag down, she unzipped it, and discovered something incredibly useless.

Her eyes went wide. "Lambo…what are you doing here?"

"I took out your stuff and hid in your bag," he said simply, standing up and picking his nose.

"I can see that! I—argh—gah! Why didn't you stay home?" Tsuna scolded. "Oh, never mind that. I'm taking you back."

"Aww, but I wanna see what you were doing!" he whined.

"Boring grown-up stuff, now come on."

He pouted. "No!" he said defiantly and took off. Tsuna let out a loud groan before running after the child. Lambo apparently liked this turn of action, laughing and skipping as if they were playing a game of tag. Then he dug into his hair and pulled out a grenade. "Oi Tsuna! Let's play assassin!"

"Lambo! Get over here—no! D-don't go there, come here! Lambo!" Tsuna chased after the pleased boy who was dashing and cutting around corners while waving the grenade.

"Hahaha!" As Lambo was turning around a corner, he smacked into someone. Then tumbling onto his rear, his eyes had gotten watery and made a crying noise.

"Hey, little guy, what're you doing here?" said the person who Lambo knocked into.

"I…I…" he whimpered.

"Lambo!" Tsuna called, irked. "What'll I get my hands on yoouu…" And she trailed her sentence when she saw _Yamamoto Takeshi_ right before her.

Yamamoto blinked. "Huh? You?"

"Y-Yamamoto! I, uh, c-can explain…?" she fumbled her words.

"Ne, Tsuna," Lambo said, tugging on her pants.

"Not now Lambo," she muttered.

"But my grenade—"

BOOM! The grenade exploded.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:**

For curious readers out there, I'm sorry but I can't tell you when Byakuran or Mukuro or Enma or any other characters will appear. You just have to wait and see.

"—" is talking

'—' is thinking

But you guys already knew that.

* * *

When the smoke had cleared, Tsuna had ceased hacking her brains out. 'Oh gosh,' Tsuna thought, opening her teary eyes that were dry from the explosion, 'What was that? Well, at least I'm not hurt—that would mean that Lambo and Yamamoto Takeshi are both alright (I hope).' She frowned. 'When did the floors become lukewarm?' The air was kind of foggy—smelled like lavender too. Standing up, she felt water drag her clothes and the wall her hand was on was slippery. Above her head, there was a row of shampoos and soaps.

'Oh no.'

Bubbles, water, scrubs, tub—she was in a bathtub! But why? Why was she in a bathtub when she clearly remembered _not_ being in a bathtub? And how was it possible? Did the floors crumble from the explosion and she landed here? She looked up at the ceiling, only finding it to be very much intact, and then she looked around to see if the two boys had somehow ended up in the same situation, and they weren't. She was alone.

'Fantastic,' she inwardly wailed. 'Why do these things always happen to me?' She pushed the curtain aside and stepped out. Unfortunately, with her notorious clumsiness kicking back into action, she slipped and crashed back into the waters. "GAH!"

After caressing her new bruises and wondering if she had been cursed as an infant, she managed to get out of the tub safely and grabbed for a towel to dry. She was still sopping in soapy water (not to mention her underwear felt funny when wet) but at least it she wasn't completely drenched like before. Tsuna slipped her shoes off and held her breath—she was going to open the door. Who knows what was behind it? But she can't stay in this bathroom forever, wishing that she would miraculously go back to where she was before (even if the bathroom looked really fancy—fancier than her mother's fine china).

A one minute mental debate finally urged her to open the door. She turned the knob and pushed it open, seeing another fancy room, a bedroom. It was like one of those Victorian rooms illustrated by European designers you would see in magazines. And didn't they cost a fortune? Oh yeah, they did. Her brows knitted together in confusion. Again, the same question had came in mind: How and why did she come here?

Mechanically, Tsuna walked to the queen-sized bed and traced her fingertips on the silk sheets. Her eyes followed the design until they had reached to the stack of clothes sitting in the center. There was a white blouse, a black pencil skirt and jacket, and leggings. She couldn't help but see a plain-looking bra and underwear buried in the pile—it looked like the kind of underwear Tsuna had in her drawers.

As if she would let her mother buy her underwear (frills and bunnies were a bit too extreme for her).

"This is so weird," she murmured. "Is that…" Her eyes widened as her mouth parted for a gasp. Running up to the large window, her eyes swept across the scenery: buildings, greenery, and people different from Japan's because she _wasn't_ in Japan—she was…in a foreign terrain. 'Please don't let this be _Italy_.' However, there was an itching feeling that told her that she _was_ in Italy. She has come across far too many Italians, so what's the probability of her coming to their homeland?

A LOT.

Figures.

Panic surged in her chest as her eyes frantically darted from left to right. Why was she panicked was unknown—it was just a sudden feeling that came to her. 'I…I have to get out of here!' She was about to make a dash for the door, but trudging in these wet clothes? Definitely not. She pivoted to the drawers and whipped out…boxers…

"Hiii!" She flung that to the side and vigorously wiped her fingers. 'Ew. Ew. Ew.'

Okay then, she can deal being wet.

Tsuna dashed out of the door and into corridors of elaborate paintings and other furnishings. There were lines of doors on both walls as she continued to run on the red carpet. She got the message that she was in a casino hotel—it certainly seemed that way, the stench of burning cigars wafted in her nose. Turning around a corner, she stumbled on her own feet and collided into someone.

"Argh!" Tsuna cried.

"Oof!" gasped the person who she collided.

And they both tumbled.

"Ah, mi dispiace, signorina! Lo non guardavo dove stavo andando."

"Uh…" Tsuna blinked as the boy lifted his head, holding onto his wavy dark hair. He appeared to be older than her albeit not by much. Strangely, he had one eye closed, but she could see that his other eye was green. It wasn't the kind of green like Gokudera's—the Italian transfer's eyes were bold like glistening gems. This boy's eye was pallid, soft and almost soothing—it reminded her of mint pudding or mint toothpaste. Then she realized that she was practically straddling his lap.

"Oh!" She scrambled off of him. "G-gomenasai!" Tsuna said, bowing quickly. Without a second to waste on thinking that the guy most likely didn't understand her, she jumped back onto her feet and scurried away. And her almost tripping must be mentioned, of course.

"A-attendere! No, I mean, wait! Wait!"

He spoke Japanese too? Well, then, that was certainly unexpected. Tsuna skidded to a halt, luckily not giving her heels a rug-burn, and turned her head to the boy behind her. If it weren't for her curiosity—and the hope of him knowing how to help her out—she would have ignored him and kept on running. "Um, y-yes?"

Both of his eyes went wide as he got a good look at her face. "Alcun modo…" he whispered. "Tsuna?"

In return, Tsuna blinked and murmured, "How do you…?"

"It's me, Lambo!" he exclaimed. "Lambo!"

She blinked again. "L-Lambo?"

"Si—I mean, yes. Yes!"

Her brows knitted in confusion. "No, you're not," she argued, backing away. "Lambo is five."

"Yes, I know, back in your time I was—but things are…things are a bit different."

"What? What do you mean? How can you be Lambo?"

"Please believe me. I am Lambo," he said earnestly. "You—I…Argh, how can I explain this?" He sighed and ran his fingers through his dark locks. As he was contemplating on his words, the girl was growing circumspect, scared. Additionally, her confusion has stretched. She reflected back on what he had said earlier: He knew her name and he was headstrong on the detail of him being Lambo—the child with a _freaking_ _wicked_ afro. And this guy _does_ _not_ have an afro.

Although, he could have it lopped off.

She shook her head. 'This is so frustrating!' She trusted her paranoia and was about to make a dash for it, until the boy grabbed her wrists and pulled her back. "Ah! Tsuna, don't go!"

"No! I—I have to get out of here!" she cried, struggling fruitlessly. The only problem was that she didn't know where to go—she just had to go _somewhere_. Anywhere! She, for some reason, couldn't stand being here. Her head was beginning to feel light and her throat to close in. She was on the verge of hyperventilating.

What was wrong with her?

Wait, maybe this is Reborn's doing. Maybe he drugged her and sent her here as a test, or mess her mind for some sadistic pleasure (which was typical). Or this could be a strange dream that she's currently having in her coma after being blasted by that explosion.

"I understand, and I will get you out. But please calm down."

"But _I _don't understand," she cried, not able to calm down even if she wanted to. "I mean, how is it that you're Lambo?" As if she could continue with her rebuff. There was a striking resemblance now that she received a better look at him, but what she didn't see was the childish face of a nose-picker but a suave and handsome face of a teenage boy. They could be relatives, after all, and this guy could be trying to trick her into something.

"Everything will be answered afterwards, however until then you must follow me," he assured, letting go of her wrist to hold her hand. "Please."

There was suspicion in the girl's gaze, but she agreed. Whether he was telling the truth or not, his beseeching eye was very much like Lambo's, rendering Tsuna to take the risk of trusting him.

Throughout the way, he hasn't let go of her hand.

It took awhile getting there. The two had passed the casino, being watched by intimidating men holding their cigars and drinks whereas ladies garbed in skimpy wear batted their lashes at the boy, who either ignored or was unaware of them.

None of the two had spoken a word; however Tsuna's abrupt panic-attack had came to an end, finding comfort in holding hands with this person. It was strange, but it was as if she had held his hand before. When she felt his fingers constrict, she looked up, seeing him lazily smile.

"Yara yara, it's like the old days," he chuckled.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"We always held hands whenever you took me to the playground, remember?"

"I...No…"

"You don't believe that I'm Lambo?" It wasn't a question.

She nodded.

He sighed. "We're outside now."

Her lungs felt as if they were going to explode, and suddenly they relaxed. Tsuna gasped and breathed in heavily. Being outside of the hotel was a load off her shoulder. She nearly collapsed on the ground if it weren't for the boy supporting her.

She shyly smiled, grateful. "T-thank you..."

"Yara…Call me Bovino if you can't see me as Lambo." He brought her knuckle to his chin, and oddly enough Tsuna wasn't flustered by this.

"Right then. Thank you, Bovino."

"You're welcome. You seem to regain color on your cheeks."

"I do feel much better than I was before," she admitted. "I wonder what was wrong with me."

He pressed his lips into a thin line. "Do you remember…Lambo holding a pink grenade and it exploding?"

Her eyes lit up with recognition. "I do."

"Well, unknowingly, he stole a prototype, thinking it was a regular grenade. It was a weapon that his father's scientists had developed out of an accident, without any knowledge of what use it holds, until that explosion, of course."

"What does it do?"

"It seems that Lambo had thrown the grenade before it exploded, it going to you. When the person has breathed in the smoke toxins, the effects eventually kick in, which are the feeling of nervy, leading to difficulty in breathing within buildings."

"What if I remained inside?" Tsuna asked.

Bovino shrugged. "You could have fainted from lack of oxygen, and then the effects might have worn off."

"Oh." She rubbed her eye tiredly. "How about weariness?"

The corner of his lips quirked upwards. "Was it nighttime from where you came from?"

"Uh, yeah. I guess that would be the reason why I'm tired." When she stopped rubbing, she asked, "By the way, how did you know my name?"

"You wouldn't believe me either way."

"That you're Lambo?"

He shrugged again.

"But…it isn't—"

"Ushishishi. The prince sees something interesting." A man appeared, walking towards them. On his back was a guitar gig-bag with '_VONGOLA X_' marked on it. "Could this be the incident that Tsunayoshi had mentioned before?"

"Ah, Bel." Bovino faced the man, expressing wariness. "Yes, that time happened."

'What did I mention before? And why does every stranger know my name?' Tsuna wondered. 'And why does name Bel sound so familiar? And this man—he looks familiar too.' The creepy smile, the bangs that needed trimming, and the tiara sitting on top of his golden hair—she knew that she had seen this person before… But when was it?

Her eyes widened with the revelation that this man was without a doubt the boy from the playground earlier. 'The fashionista guy!' And even though that he appeared to be that of a mature age than the last time she had met him, it was _definitely_ him. Tsuna couldn't deny that feeling in her gut.

"Why is she wet?" Bel asked.

"What?" Bovino averted his eyes curiously onto the girl. "I didn't notice that till now."

"Ushishishi. You are an idiot." The man smacked the boy's head.

"_Dolore_!" Bovino cried, holding his head. "Bel, don't do that!"

"Why are you wet?" Bel asked Tsuna this time.

She blinked. "I…eto…I was in…a bathtub," she said uncertainly.

Suddenly, the man's grin turned absolutely wicked whereas Bovino blushed. "Is that so?" Bel continued, leaning towards her. "With the hot water and soaps and everything?"

"Yeah…How do you know?" she said curiously. Without a warning, Bel howled with laughter as Bovino became even redder. "Wh-what's so funny…?"

"I forgot how innocent you were back then, Tsunayoshi," Bel snickered.

"That has nothing to do with innocence, Bel!" Bovino cried.

"Ushishishi." He repositioned the strap of the bag until comfy and asked the boy, "How much longer does she stay before the effects wear off?"

"Um, I'm not sure," Lambo said, recovering from whatever shocked him. "I think that around this time she should—"

BOOM!

When the smoke cleared, the first thing she saw was her outstretched hand that was no longer holding Bovino's hand. The second thing she saw was Yamamoto standing before her, a light blush on his cheeks and eyes starting to widen at the sight of her.

"You're—you're back!" he gasped.

She was in a bedroom, but not the fancy Victorian style one, but a classic Japanese one. She was seated in a chair with Lambo in her lap, who was struggling to get off.

"Tsuna, I'm getting wet because you're wet," he whined.

"O-oh, sorry Bovi—L-Lambo."

* * *

The grenade happened to be some sort of technology that was able to send a person ten years to the future; however the person's future self must switch places with him. It wears off within forty-five minutes, and thus the person switch back to his original time. Said so Tsuna's future self.

"W-wait, how is that even possible?" she said. "I mean, this isn't a science-fiction novel—this is reality we're talking about."

"Well, it seemed pretty real when your older self replaced you," Yamamoto said calmly. "Wasn't it the same with you when you found yourself somewhere outlandish?"

_Evidently_, it was strange how she suddenly found herself in a casino hotel outside of Japan. And there was Bovino…then Bel. 'But it could have been a dream. My mind wasn't exactly clear.' But that was because of the effects of the grenade. And everything was too _genuine_ for it to be a dream—not to mention that she was still soaked. Also, Yamamoto had encountered the similar fate, except rather than relocating he faced the living example: twenty-four-year-old Tsuna.

"And so…this woman, this _me_…You believe, um, what I said?" Tsuna asked. She tousled her hair with a towel whereas staying dry in the new clothes the boy had given her.

"Honestly, everything went over my head before and since the explosion until your older self appeared and…" He blushed and laughed awkwardly. "Erm, yeah. Anyway, there was no other answer that I could think of as for how this happened so—as implausible as it was—the whole time-traveling business seemed reasonable."

She frowned, skeptical of the logic. Even though she had gone through the events she wanted to stay practical. Really, time-traveling? Wasn't that far-fetched? However, there's no denying the truth: it happened. She swapped places with her future self. She glanced down at the sleeping Lambo on her lap and was reminded of Bovino. Perhaps Bovino actually was Lambo after all.

"Since you stayed in the future for forty-five minutes, can you tell me what it was like?" Yamamoto asked curiously, smiling.

"Eh, well," she began, setting down the towel, "it was…interesting. And kind of short in my part."

"Didn't have much of an adventure?" He pouted and then chuckled. "Bummer."

"It was kind of like an adventure, but, uh, not so much," she agreed.

"You went out?" He brightened with interest. "Did you meet anyone?"

"I think I met this guy," Tsuna said, pointing at the young child. "He tried convincing me that he was Lambo, but I thought he was trying to trick me and I got paranoid."

"I'm surprised that he didn't explain to you your position."

"I don't think he could since I kept trying to runaway." As they exchanged smiles, she asked," So how was I like?"

Again with the blush, he avoided eye contact. "You were c-cool," he replied, his voice somewhat strained.

She pressed her lips together. "Did I do anything to make you uncomfortable?" she asked nervously.

"Should I come out frank?"

"It might help me, so that I might avoid the problematic part."

"Your future self came here naked."

"…"

His blush intensified as he rubbed his neck, regretting being _too_ frank. "E-eh heh heh…Weird, huh…?"

And then it made sense, as to why Bel was leering and Bovino (or Lambo, maybe) was being flustered. When Yamamoto said that the person switches places, it was much more definite than she thought. That was why she was in the bathtub—because her older self was taking a bath!

"S-so…I was…" she trailed.

"I-I didn't see! I swear!" the boy said hurriedly. "I gave you a towel and clothes—eh, well, now they're gone because time was up. Now how am I going to explain to Dad about my wardrobe?"

She gripped her hair. "Gyuuah! How embarrassing," she wailed, about to bury her face in her lap until she was reminded that she couldn't by Lambo occupying it.

"But hey, look on the bright side, at least you know when not to take a bath," he piped helpfully.

'Yeah, I'll definitely remember a decade later,' came the sarcastic thought.

The kendo and baseball star asked for more detail about her "adventure", and so Tsuna obliged, her glum mood disappearing as Yamamoto's refreshing personality affected her. In return, she received info on what else her older self had told him. Apparently after the explanation of the grenade the future Tsuna requested him to join Vongola Decimo.

'Is that even allowed?' Tsuna wondered. 'For my future self to interfere with the past like that?' As she thought about it, she considered that perhaps her time was assembled that way—the nude incident must have happened for a purpose, such as getting Yamamoto to know about the band that Reborn was trying to build, or more like _going_ to build because knowing Reborn, the man had ways of accomplishing anything. 'And besides,' she added, 'it was me still, future or past, so technically no outside help was made.'

"You explained to me about the situation regarding to the disappearance of the original Vongola, and so former band-mates who were once recognized as Arcobaleno were gathered together to establish another band called Vongola Decimo in order to please the upset fans. Or something like that."

"So your answer?" Tsuna asked, leaning in with anticipation.

"Haha, as fun as it sounds, I have to refuse," he said, smiling apologetically. "Your future self tried to convince me, but there's no way that I can become part of your band. I'm a sportsman, not a musician. Anyway, since you didn't see my future self, who would know how much of an alternation on the future would happen if I did join? It's not worth risking."

"B-but what if whatever choices we make still doesn't waver the future because that was what developed tomorrow's tomorrow?" she insisted. "I-I mean, I don't think that there's ever the chance of the future to come to a change because, well, perhaps it was meant to be."

"Like how fate brought us together?"

Tsuna knew the innocence of those words since Yamamoto couldn't be referring to romance, but she couldn't help but blush. "Um, yeah."

"I see your point," he said, "but there's one problem: I don't play an instrument. The future you mentioned about a man named Reborn who perceived my abilities to be beneficial, but I don't see it. Like I said before, I'm a sportsman. These hands aren't meant for music-making." And then he added, with a hint of melancholy he failed to hide, "Besides, I have my life set up for me. I'm going to take over my dad's dojo."

The boy wasn't going to give in and join, that much was obvious. He made his answer crystal clear so she shouldn't push it—and he was kind enough to give her warm clothes and meal for crying out loud. He offered her future (nude) self something to cover herself with, which was quite gentlemanly. He expressed friendliness instead of hostility even though she snuck into his house with Lambo (very stalkerish) and he allowed her to clarify her reason. How nice could the guy get? Oh, and it would seem that her second recruitment went out as a failure.

'Reborn can find himself another guy, right?' At that moment she was doubtful.

It was nearing nine o'clock and Tsuna and Lambo had to go. As a parting gift he gave her leftovers (very, very tasty leftovers—the first class!), ignoring her refusals. He laughed good-naturedly and tousled her already disheveled hair. This…show of affability was foreign to her with the exception of her father, who also was fond of making her look as if she got up from bed.

It was as if they were friends already. Not the kind of friendship she and Gokudera had, if that can even be considered such as, but the kind of relationship she can easily get used to despite her social status. When the Italian transfer wanted to be her friend, she tried to make him see that she wasn't worth his time. With this boy, however, it was different.

If Yamamoto wanted to be her friend, then sure, why not?

Unless he disturbs her seclusion time, then no.

"See you at school, Tsuna," he said.

She blinked. "How did you know my name?" Then she smacked her forehead. "Never mind! E-everyone at school m-must've talked about me being, um, Dame-Tsuna, huh?"

He frowned. "Don't think of that. You are _not_ useless." This caused her to have a fluttering feeling. "So far, what I can see is that you are quite a traveler—a time-traveler! And also a person who just needs a helping hand." He jabbed his thumb at his chest, grinning. "I'll take care of that spot for you."

The girl smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Yamamoto."

"Don't mention it. By the way, future you told me to call you Tsuna. Tsunayoshi is a mouthful to say, as you had told me."

Yamamoto had changed his mind and decided to walk her home, and his father wouldn't mind since he trusted his son in returning back in time.

'Yeah. I can get used to this.'

* * *

"But Reborn! He's busy as it is! He's occupied with kendo and baseball—I can't allow him to bother with the band. It would be rude too!"

But her tutor wouldn't have any of that. In fact, he was quite confident that Yamamoto Takeshi would join, and so he pressured Tsuna to continue pursuing the recruitment. Knowing that she'll loose no matter what—because Reborn's pride doesn't let him to loose—she let the argument go.

In actuality, she sucked at any argument, and therefore the career as a lawyer was a definite no. But that's not the case.

"Since you gave him the details, most likely he'll contemplate the idea," Reborn said. Tsuna didn't mention about Lambo having a weapon that sent her ten years ahead of time, but he wouldn't be interested anyway. No, he wouldn't _care_. "And you have to recruit another one."

"What?" she cried. "Two at a time?"

"I don't have time to waste," he said simply. "There is the admission, the competition, the nationals, and then you take on the world. World, as in, Italy, as in, Vongola Primo, as in, you better recruit them as soon as possible otherwise I'll sic the upset fans at you, Dame-Tsuna."

She gulped.

The corner of the man's lip curved upwards in amusement. "Your mission is Sasagawa Ryohei."


	8. Chapter 8

**SMILES SAYS:** Thank you to those who had reviewed my story, commenting about its…refresh-ness. Well, that's an interesting way to put it: I'm A Rock Star is a refreshing story to read…Hmm…SPREAD THE LOVE THEN, PEOPLE!

Anyway, I have a theory: You see the original Tsuna and notice that he's short, yeah? He's a centimeter or so taller than Kyoko and a head shorter than Yamamoto. So I'm thinking that if male Tsuna was like that, then what would female Tsuna's height be? Answer: shrimp status! ;D Well, actually, she'd be just an inch shorter, so my guess is that she'd be 5'2 or something.

* * *

When she woke up, she could tell that her experience in time-travel was indeed real. Tsuna could still feel the tingly sensation of the epoch-winding in her bones (and the bruises from slipping in the bathroom). Lambo, who was now jumping on her bed, also remembered the incident and mentioned about a naked lady who suddenly appeared from a cloud of dust. Tsuna tried not to be flustered by the child's words and hoped that his future self would have forgotten about it.

Well, probably not…

She didn't want to think about it.

Anyway, it happened to be surreal now that Yamamoto was involved. Tsuna had a moment of doubt, and that Lambo and she might have had miraculously the same dream—with Reborn's occasional hobby of making experiments out of her, it would have been reasonable to think so. However, her evil tutor did not inject an unknown substance into her bloodstream (like before) or placed a helmet connected to a hunk-of-wires-and-metal-with-extra-other-junk (as it happened last time). It just took Yamamoto to give her a charming smile and a wave.

When she entered her classroom, she saw the baseball team members flocking around Yamamoto Takeshi. Apparently, he agreed to join the team seeing the jovial reactions the boys expressed. The sports prodigy laughed as well, and when he looked over their heads a friendly greeting was sent at her way.

"Hey, Tsuna!"

She felt eyes on her, in which made her feel self-conscious. She had half the mind to ignore the boy seeing how she did not wake up well in the morning (in fact, she was so tired that she brushed her teeth with lotion and didn't even taste the difference), but Yamamoto was, to say it in a nutshell, damn nice! The words he said to her touched her heart the other night, so handling a couple menacing female fans would be worth being with a genuinely kind person. Perhaps a friend, even.

Gokudera does not count.

Putting up a smile, Tsuna walked up to him and said, "M-morning."

The baseball team stared at her for a moment, and then they burst into laughter and tousled her hair good-naturedly. Tsuna watched them leave with an odd expression. 'Okay…that was weird.'

"Haha, I guess the guys like you," Yamamoto laughed.

Probably because he was nice to her, but whatever. Tsuna shrugged. "Did you, um, sleep well?" she asked to start the conversation.

It was a good thing that he was so easy to talk to. "Oh yeah! I sure did. After what happened last night, I slept like a rock."

"Same with me," she admitted. "It was so hard to wake up."

"Well, I surely can't be as exhausted as you. The whole thing went up as an explosion, literally, that trying to grasp what happened was mentally tiresome. As for you, ha, I'm nowhere near!"

"Yeah, and because of that, I got bruises." She pointed to the areas. "But I don't think they're too bad."

"Sorry to hear that."

"That's alright. Oh, I remembered—I forgot to bring your clothes so I'll have them ready by tomorrow."

"Gee, thanks!"

Those who eavesdropped their conversation were blushing madly. It would appear that they were getting the wrong idea. The perverts…

As mentioned before, having Yamamoto involved was surreal. Not because he was taking this rather too well or the fact that someone with the status of a millionaire kid was talking to her, but that a person who originally belonged outside of this topsy-turvy world suddenly landed here, and it was completely accidental (outside of the recruitment initiative). When Reborn dragged her in, it was intentional that she would be partake whatever was going on (she knew it was way too plot out for Reborn to somehow become her tutor).

Additionally, there were great pointers. Definitely. One thing to point out was that he wasn't Italian; it wasn't that Tsuna had something against Italians, but it seemed that they were _everywhere_. Another thing was that Yamamoto considered her as a friend, and she couldn't be more overjoyed by that. He didn't care about her flaws! And what was more remarkable was that he was a hunky hottie hot hot guy…Not that appearances mattered or anything…

This was perhaps the longest conversation she had with anybody Reborn, parents, and occasionally Gokudera aside. And when the bell rang, Yamamoto followed to her desk and was still talking, which reminded her of a lost puppy (this made her feel giddy inside). It then he had to go to his own desk when the teacher arrived (boo!) and did roll-call.

Gokudera, as usual, was late for class.

* * *

'This sucks,' Tsuna thought glumly. 'Gokudera had to ruin the moment by dragging me out of class (AKA away from Yamamoto) just because OF REBORN'S STUPID MISSION!'

She kicked dirt, pouting.

"Alright, Jyuudaime," the Italian transfer began, again calling her that name, "I have the papers that Reborn-san had given me. Shall I list off the next target's information?"

She blinked. "Wait, isn't that a bit—"

He rolled his eyes and read anyway. "Sasagawa Ryohei: age sixteen, third-year, president of the boxing club, grades are average or below, was held back in third grade…Pfft, who fails third grade?"

"Well, what does Re—"

"His dream is to become a professional boxer, he has a younger sister who doesn't attend to our school, he sometimes sleeps in class, he has the tendency to yell, and he behaves that of a distraction to other students. Yup, we have ourselves an idiot."

"I don't think that—"

"So we'll have to get two idiots into the band, though I'm not sure how the band would become successful with them hindering our progress," he snorted. "Especially that Yamamoto guy—he's too fucking smiley."

If Tsuna could glare that wouldn't make her look as if she was sucking on a sour lemon, then she would send a nasty one to the boy.

'Just let it go, Tsuna. He's just one of those spoiled, rebellious rich kids.'

She exhaled through her nose. "Where are we?" He gave her a look that made her feel stupid. "What?"

"You seriously don't know? You seriously been here longer than I have?" He almost sounded incredulous.

'I am going to have a cow and it's not going to be pretty.'

When he had the decency to answer, she learned that they were standing before the window of the boxing club. Now that she had a better look, this was the area where she ate her lunch when she was a first-year, before she learned that there was a passage to the roof, the best eating place ever. It brought sad memories, not that those memories would ever end—being friendless and awkward, this here would be her hiding spot.

She recalled that before there wasn't a boxing club running in the building but wrestling. They must have replaced the sport or just trade off whenever. 'Time sure flies when you're having fun.' Not.

"So who's Sasagawa Ryohei?" Tsuna asked, going on her tiptoes to see above the window sill.

"The guy with the scar on his forehead and lawn-head," Gokudera replied.

"…"

She wasn't sure about a 'lawn-head', but she did notice one sweaty lad adorned with gear and was punching and moving around with such vigor. He would throw "TO THE EXTREME!" or "EXTREME PUNCH!" here and there, in which reminded Tsuna of someone.

'That guy looks familiar…Isn't he…?' Her lips formed an 'o' from realization. "That's the guy who was delivering ramen the other day."

"And the one who Reborn requested." Gokudera sighed, looking mildly put off. "I really hope he's not planning on filling the band with morons."

'You're the moron.'

"Well, it can't be helped."

'Gokudera Hayato, you're the biggest moron known to man!'

"C'mon, Jyuudaime," the corner of his lips were tugged downwards, "you gotta do _something_ about this."

'What do you think I'm doing? I'm the one who's enduring it all!' She went rigid with agitation.

* * *

"Do I get paid?"

'Paid?' She pursed her lips. "Um, no."

"Eh? Then what is it?"

"It's like…an afterschool club."

He shook his head. "I already have a club and jobs to worry about. Besides, why would you guys want me to join when I don't even play an instrument?"

"We see…potential in you."

"Potential?"

"Y-yes."

His brows furrowed. "Sorry, despite how extremely awesome it sounds, I'm just not interested. In music, I mean."

And so that's how it ended. Tsuna's third recruitment failed just like the second, thus she was left either two options: take him by force, or gather enough blackmail to force him. Actually, it was Gokudera who gave and limited her choices; it was clear that he wanted to get this over with and start the band. He also didn't see why Reborn wanted the two boys as members as he continuously insulted them indirectly.

Tsuna was curious too. Perhaps she should ask Reborn after she succeeds in getting one of them to join. If she succeeds, that is.

Seeing how forcing Sasagawa to join would be pointless since they wanted him to _want_ to be part of the band (that's what recruiting meant), Tsuna decided that the latter of the two options was the best. They could just…use the blackmail to…make him see how fantastic it'll be to join…?

'This is going to be tough,' she decided.

They were hiding behind a dumpster, spying on Sasagawa. So far, they learned that he worked as a delivery boy for two different restaurants and the same time. It was practically a miracle on how well the third-year did his job, not to mention how quickly.

On one hand was weighed by a box that secured a bowl of ramen, and on the other was pizza. He would zip past them, never noticing them being there, and give proclamations about EXTREME things.

"Running to Gohaku Avenue to the EXTREME!"

Just like that.

"Has Reborn-san even met him in person?" Gokudera muttered.

"I'm sure he would reconsider from the past ten minutes," Tsuna, for once in her life, concurred. As astonishing as it seemed, Tsuna had _agreed_ with Gokudera. Well, anyone would too if anyone had to stick around listening to Sasagawa screaming by the top of his lungs while running down the sidewalk and later back up again. And anyone would receive a headache from it too.

"How long have we been here?" Tsuna wondered.

Gokudera checked his wristwatch decked with studs. "An hour and forty minutes."

"Just how long will he be doing this?" she groaned.

Two hours later…

"FINISHED TO THE EXTREME!"

They woke up in a jolt. Tsuna looked up groggily, rehearing what blasted through her ears a couple times in her head before she understood.

"He's getting away!" She nudged Gokudera hard in the ribs.

"Ow! What the shit!" He looked up. "He's getting away!"

'Yeah, that's what I just sa—WHOA!' Gokudera grabbed her wrist and bolted to the direction where Sasagawa was heading. Why he was in a mad dash they had no idea, but it was later discovered that he had more things to take care of.

"You got to be kidding me."

Lo and behold the convenience store.

The boxer slammed the door open. "Ready for work to the EXTREME!"

"Just how many jobs does this guy have?"

* * *

Like last time, Tsuna woke up with a struggle. Gokudera and she had been staying up until midnight, trying to fight against exhaustion, and when Sasagawa finally got out of work he made his way to a cruddy small apartment that was fit for the poor. They waited outside for fifteen minutes, and came with one conclusion: Sasagawa Ryohei _was_ poor.

What was going in his parents' minds? Where were they? Or does he live alone? Did his sister live with him? Living under these conditions were going to hinder his health; he just pulled an all-nighter just to get through some labor—correction, he _always_ pulls all-nighters. She had a vague recollection of the third-year always falling asleep in his classes. This must be the reason why. It was simply astonishing how he managed to survive all this time, or was this a recent accommodation?

Again, she wondered what the parents were thinking, having their son finding shelter in this so-called home. Seriously, it looked as if the roof would cave in any minute now from this angle.

"Looks like he's been kicked out," she heard Gokudera say.

She blinked incredulously. "What?"

"His family thought he was fucked up or something so they discarded him as if he was trash." He shrugged. "It's one of those crazy family issues." Tsuna wasn't sure if she was imagining that there was a strange glimmer of emotion in his eyes or how he whispered at the end. It must have something to do with his own family, such as his deceased mother.

"I see."

Anxiety swelled up in her chest as she continued to stare at the apartment building. Something told her that she was partially responsible for Sasagawa's…problem. Even though she had nothing in relation to him, she was up to the duty of having him part of the band, and that enough should have her being concerned. In which was odd considering how she lacked the compassion. Not that Tsuna was cold-hearted or anything, she just didn't find it to be worth the time to be butting in anyone's business. Lazy, cowardly, socially reluctant, call it what you will, that's how Tsuna was.

Till now.

It must have been the days of spending time (like she had a freakin' choice) with Gokudera. It really was an influence on her. Whether her conscious had developed an awareness outside of her own comfort zone or that she subconsciously resolved to be that of kinder spirits than a trash-mouth like Gokudera, it'd be so that it was all because of Gokudera. Perhaps it was because she wanted to find herself in a position where she could be in a disagreement with him because she really, really didn't like him. Like, at all.

"Well, it isn't any of our business," he remarked.

And just like that, she had a reason to defy.

"We can't just leave like we never saw it," she said.

"You're right; we'll have to use this as blackmail."

"No," she cried, "that's not what I meant!"

He, however, didn't regard her (like every time) and marched his way back home, saying that he'll get Sasagawa to join. "Night, Jyuudaime."

'Screw you,' Tsuna sang in her head.

* * *

"Hey," Yamamoto said, staring at the girl, "you look void of sleep."

'Was that a statement of irony?' she wondered vaguely as she lifted her head which strangely felt a thousand times heavier than normal. "I'm tired."

"I know that," he chuckled.

"No, I mean, I'm really tired. Like, really, really tired," she grumbled aloud, making wild gestures with her hand.

"How tired are you?"

"Like really, really, rea—Whoa, whoa, whoa. I told ya already."

"Haha, sorry. So why are you tired?"

Tsuna, being slightly—or really—delusional because she was really, really tired, continued to grumpily ramble on like a geezer who's waving his cane at the brats daring to stomp on his lawn. "'Cause I didn't sleep till…" she counted her fingers "one or two in the morning."

Yamamoto, being highly entertained of delusional Tsuna, couldn't help exposing a wide grin. "Pulling an all-nighter?" he put in lightly.

"Yeah, yeah. 'Cause we do somethin'."

"'We'?"

"Gokudera and I." Tsuna yawned. "We were goin' ta recruit someone, but he said no, so we followed him, and it took us till past midnight."

"Eh? You were following someone?"

"Mmhm. It was Gokudera's idea 'cause he hoped to get info 'bout ta guy," she mumbled, about to nod off.

"I guess he's part of your band; you two are almost always together," Yamamoto said thoughtfully.

Tsuna frowned at that. "Oh yeah, we're the bestest buddies in the universe," she said with all the sarcasm she could muster.

"'Bestest' huh?" he laughed.

"Go away." She waved at him dismissively, burying her head again. "Play your game or whatever."

"Maa, I guess I'll do whatever then."

"No, seriously, whatcha doin' here?"

"Can you say that fate decided to twist things?" When she heard the uncharacteristically dry tone, Tsuna looked up and saw Yamamoto gazing absently at their classmates. He didn't sound as if he was conscious of saying it. "I had a note."

"Oh," she said, "me too."

"I know. I saw you chuck yours at sensei's face."

She didn't blush like how she was generally capable of responding during a time of mortification. She was tired and could care less. "I was and am tired."

He smiled.

"Anyway, how come I didn't you see you around?" Tsuna was now awake, groggy but awake nonetheless. Indeed she hadn't seen the boy appear and wondered why he would need a note when he was, very-much-so a no-brainer, the best athlete around. He wouldn't be entitled as a sport prodigy for any other reason.

"I was late," he answered.

'Oh. Well then.' That was rather obvious. "And whatcha need to be excused for?"

"I'm not feeling well." This caused a brow to rise. "You?"

"Same." She looked at him curiously. "Why aren't you feeling well?"

"Just don't feel well." He shrugged. "You don't seem to be tired anymore," he added.

"Thanks to you." Her voice no longer grumbled in a cracked, exhausted tone; it was normal now. "That's strange; you don't seem to be the type of person who would fall ill."

"Maybe because you don't know me very well."

"Meh." Despite them socializing since three days ago, they had gotten along very well; it was as if they were old time friends. It must've been Yamamoto's friendly-fun spirit that had Tsuna draw closer to him, although he mentioned about how opposite personalities attract much better than others. Seemed to make sense—it was like how a chatterbox would be paired up with a vivid listener and not have any quarrels.

Tsuna thought about this once. Long and carefully. And then she decided that it was logical.

But that principle obviously couldn't be applied to _all_—just take a look at Tsuna and Hibari! Now, what part of her that caught his attention was beyond her, but it wasn't as if he liked her or anything, and it was likewise for her. These two were opposites for sure—polar opposites!—but so were she and Yamamoto. Perhaps only the bad kind of opposite was to be avoided, like she and Gokudera. Tsuna could hardly stand Gokudera.

That was what the girl thought.

What she didn't realize was that she was basing off of particular traits. She saw that Hibari was her opposite seeing how he had authorities and brutal strength whereas she was Dame-Tsuna, and the nickname alone explained enough. However, they had a quiet nature, they were loners, they were pensive, and they liked Sawada Nana's cooking (unless there was a reason why Hibari always swipe her lunch). So they weren't total contradictory figures, but the fact about the attraction remained standing (unless there was a reason why Hibari always happen to be random with her).

Another thing: Gokdera was like her opposite in a way. And so was Yamamoto, but back to Gokudera. He resembled Reborn in a way: insensitive, supercilious, tricky, striving, crude, impossible, and—of course—_infuriating_ (that happened to be her favorite word of describing him). Yet for certain, there was a distance that definitely distinguished the two. For one, Reborn would never be so impetuous; he was far too deliberate for that. And, well, Gokudera tended to be expressive, such as being prone to arguments with his anger flaring about. Reborn was different, however, as he was apt in putting away his emotions with a cool face; he always left his acquaintances stumped with his mysterious self.

Perhaps the word 'opposite' was stressed too much. It wasn't much about contradictory, but more like difference.

So it was Gokudera's…difference that Tsuna couldn't cope well with.

"Maa, a little cruel much?" Yamamoto said in mock hurt.

Tsuna grinned in spite of herself.

"Aha! And she reveals her true self!"

Ten minutes later discovered the two to be discussing about random things about their childhood, but it was kept short (Tsuna avoided parts regarding to her being Dame-Tsuna and Yamamoto just shrugged it off by saying he'd been 'in the spotlight' since forever). They later fell into the category of interests and the like, and eventually it was led to the topic about the band.

The sport prodigy happened to be engrossed, constantly asking her questions, and as for Tsuna, she was content on answering. But it appeared peculiar to her that someone who refused to join happened to be ever so curious of what it's about. Perhaps he finally became interested and was actually considering on joining!

"No, I'm not part of the band, I think," she said.

Yamamoto's eyebrows rose. "Really? Then what are you?"

"I don't really know." Tsuna shrugged. "Maybe I might be part of it somehow."

"Maybe as the singer."

She made a face. "Yeah, and why not shatter a couple eardrums while at it."

He chuckled and turned back at the soccer game playing below the bleachers. "Piano?"

"I can't play an instrument for the life of me, and that's Gokudera's occupation anyway."

"What? Seriously? I can't picture him playing the piano!"

Tsuna, apart from of how much she disliked him, grinned in the Italian's favor. "He's surprisingly really good. Reborn wanted him to at least try to see if he still remembered to how to play, so he took out this huge keyboard and set it in front of him. I think Gokudera was nervous at first, I don't know, but once he started it was…" That was when she trailed, unable to quite describe the composition into words. "It was really something."

There was a knowing grin playing the boy's lips.

"W-what?"

"You like him."

"No I don't." She frowned. "I already told you that."

"Yes, you said that he was this and that and mainly infuriating, but regardless you like him deep in your heart."

"If so, then it must've been buried somewhere very, very deep," she deadpanned.

"Oh, I beg to differ; it can't be so deep that your heart doesn't leap out of your chest as you swoon at the sight of him, right?"

She gave him a dry look.

"Now, now, don't give me that look! You could at least admit that you were using his amazing pianist skills as a cover to hide away your true longing for his company."

Now was the time she had the decorum to blush like some mad woman with a jalapeno allergy.

"Whoa! No need to be red about it!" he barked a laugh, rolling on his back.

"Yamamoto-san!" Tsuna cried, not amused. "It's not funny!"

"Sorry, sorry!" he snickered. "It's just that, I had never seen a face as red as yours!"

She snorted.

"Maa, forgive and forget?" He good-naturedly slung an arm around her shoulders.

She couldn't help smiling. "Alright, just this once."

"Haha!"

After all, when being friends with Yamamoto Takeshi, there's nothing to be troubled about.

'A real friend, right by my side.'

* * *

The next day after school, Tsuna was carried to the hospital by a guilt-ridden Yamamoto and an irate Gokudera. Reborn could only imagine what happened before the two boys could explain.

And in the mind of an unconscious Tsuna, there was a dream empty as the darkest hell as Yamamoto's voice continuously rang.

"_Tsuna," he spoke softly, "I'm dying."_

* * *

**A/N:** I'll let you guys on a little secret: When I try to keep a character, well, _in character_, I tend to go…off limits…? It's like this: I try to make Yamamoto the chipper fellow he is in the manga (or the anime, for those anime goers) and then suddenly he winds up being someone else! A guy who's straining his face muscles and is actually a total fake inside. And trying to get Gokudera to be a loyal puppy is not going to work in this alternate universe; I just can't have him instantly starry-eyed right after Tsuna saves him—it just seems to be _too simple_ for that to happen.

And thank you to those who appreciate my show of Tsuna's faults and whatnot. No offence to those who'd go for the 'everyone loves Tsuna and his/her big doe eyes' scenario, but that just screams Mary-Sue to me. Oh dear, I'm contradicting myself, aren't I? Because in this fic, everyone will love Tsuna! In a platonic kind of way, sorry to burst your bubble. :D Yes, she will be paired up with some_**one**_.

Another thing(s): A reviewer said that Yamamoto didn't want to join the band because he wanted to take over his dad's dojo. 0_o Uh, okay, where did ya get that idea? Or did I type it down in one of the chapters? Hmm, I seem to never be able to remember my prior chapters. Oh, and another reviewer was really hoping to see some Reborn/Tsuna and Hibari/Tsuna action. Sorry folks, but I can't stress it enough that it will or will not come. It'll be unpredictable, I'd say.

Questions? Comments? I'm here all day, folks.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** To those who love and care.

**DISCLAIMER:** No own the manga nor the manga. DUR. Tralalala~~

* * *

**NOW**

"So," said the adult foreigner, folding his arms and holding a leveled stare down at the two younger boys, "what happened?"

Lambo, who snuck inside Gokudera's bag when he was visiting the Sawada's residence, was feasting on candy. Gokudera shot Yamamoto a meaningful look. Yamamoto just hoped that his gulp wasn't audible.

The man arched a brow. "Well?"

The sports prodigy sighed and relented. "It all started yesterday…"

* * *

**BEFORE**

"_Tsuna," he spoke softly, "I'm dying."_

His words echoed in her head repetitively. Like a mantra. Tsuna plopped onto her bed and rubbed her damp hair with the towel. Then leaving the rag hanging on her neck, she stared heavenwards, contemplating. Had Yamamoto truly meant that? About what he had said?

It was when they were lingering in the halls after scavenging for her missing pencils. Apparently, a few irresponsible students who borrowed had lost them (or so they said), so Tsuna stayed behind to search (those pencils were mechanical, anyway, and she had no idea why she bothered letting them get borrowed). Yamamoto insisted on helping despite of her refusal, thus the two went to work. Initially, it was nice—the sport prodigy was bringing up humorous tales of when he was a young boy, just before when his fame and fortune came to sweep him away (his father requested five years of holiday somewhere in the country, in which Yamamoto was basically raised in the wild). Tsuna especially enjoyed the story about when he switched a jar of jam with a jar of small frogs; it was cute!

And then somehow their conversation altered from light-hearted childhood tales to somewhat somber confessions; engaging talks of whenever a dark storm would rain on their lives. Tsuna thought it was typical; they were teenagers after all. All adolescents go through the troublesome phase of complicated misery, notwithstanding Tsuna's might be darker than most.

Then it was Yamamoto who told her something that made her change her perspective of him. He told her how his life was ripped from him when his father's holiday was up, and that in its place was a new, strange one…the one in which he would gladly exchange for another. Playing kendo and baseball all day, excelling such sports, wasn't a bad factor, however, since he immensely enjoyed it; posing as a star, on the other hand, was a different story.

_Smile. Smile. Smile._ The people who worked in the corporation would tell him that. _Play. Play. Play._ They would tell him that too. _Good. Better. Best. Never let it rest until you did your very best. _His father would sing, but how much of your best can you really do if you don't at least rest?

It certainly was a strain in life, for Yamamoto, and it was very difficult for him to elaborate how his wealthy and famed routine caused him so much grief. But Tsuna got the general idea of it. Anyway, it was worsening when he grew stressed and continued to practice but would never improve. As maddening as it was, the people wanted him to be one of the best. He can never, ever rest. Until he can be the best to the end…but that would never happen.

Then he told her about how much he missed his father who is often occupied with work. Tsuna could relate to that one, seeing how frequent she would see her old man's absence in the house. 'It's like he's never here,' she thought.

And after all that, Yamamoto comes up with a metaphor. "I'm dying." He's not really dying, but internally he is. Well, he might as well be since his life sucks. Her life did too, but…somehow it's changing.

'Is it because I have Reborn? He was a big impact on my life…'

Air poured out of her nasal. 'It could've been that.'

"_Tsuna," he spoke softly, "I'm dying."_

* * *

It was starting off to be a great day! Yamamoto was looking good, probably relieved to get that confession off his chest. Gokudera wasn't here, which makes it a big bonus. Her math test had a decent score of eighty-one percent (things were getting better and better!). And she hadn't heard one person call her Dame-Tsuna all day! Nothing can bring her down now!

'Ah crud. I jinxed myself,' she inwardly cried with dread when Hibari approached her.

"Herbivore," he said in his usual monotone.

"Y-yes, sempai?" she replied, squirming nervously under his dark stare.

"Today had been another successful day."

'AH NO! NOT THIS AGAIN!'

"Tetsu and I have captured herbivores skipping class, so I bit them to death."

"Th-that's great," she said, trying to be enthusiastic yet failing epically. To her luck, the boy didn't notice.

Hibari nodded very seriously. "I have also acquired information about delinquents from another school who dared disturb the peace of Namimori," he continued.

'Why does he bother reporting to me?' Tsuna repressed a groan as usual and forced a smile to spread across her face. "You certainly abide the laws, sempai."

His eyes narrowed. "Not abide, herbivore, but honor."

'Yeah, a bit TOO much honor…'

Tsuna had never voiced aloud her innermost snide comments (not that she intended on being spiteful, but when a scary prefect walks up to you randomly and give an account on whatnot, _you too_ would think such things); however, she did wonder that if she had the guts to then would Hibari still associate with her? Perhaps he would lose his temper and raze her to lumps of black and blue with his silver tonfas. Then again, she never seen him lift a finger around girls…_Then again_, girls were much too afraid to do anything to alert the third-year's crossed attention.

'Aw, the stickler likes me,' she thought with wry amusement. Of course the prefect doesn't like her; he just tolerates her more than others. Must be pity—in any case, you don't see that many losers around here. Okay, it must be EXTREME pity then that instigated the tolerance. How sad.

'Speaking of EXTREME, I wonder how I can manage to get Sasagawa-sempai to join.' That was when Tsuna noticed a strange glint in Hibari's eyes. She recognized that look in his eyes; she would sometimes catch him watching her regardless of what anyone would think. Initially, it struck her with foreboding, making her believe that he was planning a way how to make a bloodbath out of her. Then as time flew by, she grew accustomed to the not unfamiliar intent stare.

Except for today. 'Sheesh. He always looks at me like I'm a hunk of meat.'

Poor naïve Tsuna…

"Ahem," Hibari cleared his throat, snapping Tsuna out of her stupor. "Herbivore, when someone is talking, it is only polite that you listen, not only hear."

She blushed prettily. "S-sorry, sempai."

"You've been inattentive plenty of times," he pointed out, not unkindly.

"Yes, sempai. I'm sorry."

"Including me." He frowned.

'Pardon me for being human.' "…"

"Oi, herbivore, pay attention," he growled.

'Scratch that—I'm an herbivore.' "Sorry, sempai."

For the next five wasted minutes, Hibari told her about the events of peculiar appearances of delinquents from another school popping up around Namimori, picking on fights and "disturbing the peace."

* * *

Just before she was going up the roof to eat her lunch, Hibari blocked her way. He snatched her bento (Tsuna gawked at this) and snagged two eggrolls (Tsuna gawked some more).

And then…the prefect left.

Just like that.

"Why does he never pack his own lunch?" she muttered.

* * *

Lo and behold Yamamoto standing before the rails…

Above an incredibly high height…

Having intentions of suicide…

"I tried, Tsuna, I really did try…But I can't do it anymore…"

She gasped. "No."

"I'm sorry."

"_I'm dying."_

"Y-Yamamoto, y-you c-c-can't!"

"Tell my dad that I love him."

"_Tsuna," he spoke softly, "I'm dying."_

And just like that, adrenaline pumped in her veins. It was a familiar sensation…the one when she involuntarily rushed forward to Gokudera's aid. Just like that…she did something that surprised them both.

"You can tell him yourself, you coward!"

Taken by surprise, Yamamoto gaped as Tsuna took a fistful of his shirt and tugged him in. Nonetheless, his feet didn't seem to collaborate as he tumbled backwards, taking the girl with him.

* * *

**NOW**

"We crashed into a tree, but Tsuna mostly broke my fall."

Reborn responded nothing; he waited for him to continue.

Yamamoto sighed softly. "Then…when we fell to the ground, I found her…" He couldn't finish that one. "It was fortunate that Gokudera came to school around that time."

He unconsciously rubbed a sore spot on his jaw line. When Gokudera saw the mess of Tsuna, he demanded what happened. Yamamoto told him, and in return he got socked real hard. The Italian transfer student evidently cared for Tsuna seeing the frantic look in his eyes, but he wondered why Tsuna struggled around him. She told him that Gokudera and she did not share anything more than acquaintanceship, yet for Gokudera it was definitely much more intense than that. Something about a duty…

Yamamoto wondered if Gokudera saw Tsuna as a house pet he was assigned to take care of. It seemed like that. Gokudera only caring about doing his duty right…

Gokudera carried on from here. "We carried Jyuudaime all the way here, Reborn-san."

"I see." The man paused, then motioned the two teens to follow him inside the room that the girl occupied.

The sports prodigy stopped dead at the entrance. A broken arm. A broken leg. Two cracked ribs. A bandaged head.

She was sleeping ever so peacefully.

"You done this to her," he could hear Gokudera hiss quietly by his side.

"I know," he muttered.

Reborn walked up to the bedside and leaned down. "Tsuna," he said, "Tsuna."

The girl squirmed. "Re…Reborn?" she spoke, her voice soft yet scratchy from sleep.

"Yeah, it's me." He looked up. "You two wait outside."

They obeyed. The two boys sat in silence. Whereas it was uncomfortable for Yamamoto, Gokudera glared the other side of the room. His expression was hard, unreadable, so he assumed that the Italian transfer student was thinking about something. He looked down at Lambo who was fast asleep.

Yamamoto wondered what could Reborn possibly needed to talk to Tsuna about and hoped that she could ever forgive him.

* * *

The impatient tapping of a toe against the floor announced the presence of an edgy Hibari. The students exiting the classroom either jumped back in fear or did what they can to give the prefect as much room to be offered. No one knew why he was standing outside the door, but they all got the feeling that it had something to do with Dame-Tsuna. It didn't go unnoticed that Hibari was _amiable_ (WTH!) towards the klutz, and their liaison may as well hinted romantic feelings.

In which was very, very, very hard to understand or imagine. So never mind.

It was common sense as to why Hibari was getting irritated; he wasn't exactly forbearing with his emotions, especially his temper—his super duper scary temper. Not wanting to wait any longer, the prefect barged inside, finding Tsuna's absence. His eyebrows knitted with puzzlement. Didn't he see the herbivore today?

"You," he directed at one student who attempted on running away.

The unfortunate boy failed, so he turned around and gave a fearful "Eep!"

"Where is Sawada Tsunayoshi?" he demanded.

"I-I…" The student swallowed heavily. "Sh-she d-didn't come t-t-to class a-after the bell."

He narrowed his eyes.

"I'm s-serious, s-sempai!"

Without responding, the prefect stalked out of the classroom (much to the relief of many) and headed up to the roof. When he opened the door, he discovered a bento with its rations being devoured by crows. His eye twitched with annoyance and shooed the birds away with one sweep of his tonfas. He knew whose bento box this was, it was Tsuna's. He would know since he stolen her food many times.

Hibari bent down to pick up the empty bento, and then searched for any signs of the girl. Nothing. The area was completely empty. Well, her book-bag was here too, so he picked that one up and tucked it in his arm. A growl rumbled in his throat showing that his temper was growing and growing. How dare those stupid crows feast on such tasty food! How dare the herbivore waste it by leaving it wide open! If she wasn't hungry, she should have given it to him!

Then a smirk spread across his handsome features. Time to make a visit to the herbivore.

* * *

Some time ago, Reborn had left to take care of unfinished business, or so he said. He told Yamamoto to enter Tsuna's room when thirty-four minutes were up. He didn't know why it had to be precise, but did as told. He watched the hand of the clock tick to each digit. Gokudera finally awoke from his stupor, only by Lambo. Now the two were squabbling like brats.

The tall boy would have laughed at the scenario if he wasn't so depressed.

When thirty-four minutes finally passed (good grief—it felt like a millennium!) he rushed inside. Tsuna was sitting and staring out the window. Upon hearing the door opening, she turned her head to face him.

"Ah! Yamamoto! You don't look so goo—"

"I'M SO SORRY!"

Tsuna's eyes went wide from the abrupt outburst. "W-wait, what?"

"I'M SO SORRY, TSUNA!" he cried desperately. He tackled her a light hug so that he wouldn't bruise her. "I am so sorry!"

"I-it's okay! R-really—"

"No, no it's not!" Anguish was written all over his features, making Tsuna's heart break. "I-I-I…I AM SORRY!"

'HE LOOKS LIKE A KICKED PUPPY!' She held her breath to stifle squealing.

"It's all my fault," he went on. "If I just haven't…If I would have known…!"

"Yamamoto," Tsuna cut in, grasping the hem of his shirt, "calm down. Sit."

"Ah, r-right." He sat on the edge of the bed. A few minutes flew by and the boy eventually relaxed, releasing stiff shoulders.

Silence reigned.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Um…"

"Y-Yeah?"

"I've been thinking…A lot, actually, since I'm bedridden."

"Uh huh."

"I mean, _a lot_ of thinking. I normally come up with this stuff off the bat, you know?"

He nodded.

She nodded back. "I…I understand the pressure you're dealing with, Yamamoto…But of course not enough to fully know what it's like. I only get the gist of it. Yet that doesn't mean I haven't had my fair share of gloom," she said softy, smiling wryly down at her lap.

Yamamoto blinked owlishly. "What do you mean?" he asked, wary of what the answer would be. He had never seen Tsuna like this before—being outside of her usual shy and awkward self. It somewhat unnerved him.

"I'm an untalented, clumsy kid. Boring. Stupid. A loner, no doubt about it. I've an average face, I've average hair, I've average body-strength, I've average everything! My grades have improved to be just average thanks to my tutor, but without him I'm just a simple-minded dim-wit." She looked up, him meeting a pair of tired eyes, and it almost seemed to age her face with the however-long experience the girl suffered.

"Don't say that," Yamamoto tried to induce, "you're not! Don't be idealistic, Tsuna—"

"I'm not being idealistic; I'm being realistic. You know it too—don't deny it. I'm called Dame-Tsuna for a reason, you know."

He didn't say anything. That much was true.

She continued. "I was never good at making friends no matter how much I tried…so I gave up. I didn't really care at that time because I thought I was better off alone. I just…just didn't want to try to live off as entertainment for someone if they consider that as a friend…"

Yamamoto's eyebrows shot up.

"Usually, people would want to hang around people who are cool, funny, cheery, and the sort. I'm…plain Dame-Tsuna. I'm plain, dull Dame-Tsuna," she sighed. "I never had a real friend, that until you came around."

"M-me?" He pointed to himself, surprised.

Tsuna nodded. "Being with you…made me feel reassured. Like I feel a burst of hope or something. Because it always seems that you genuinely like me despite me being me." She gazed at him in the eye. "I know that we've been friends for a short time, or that you've been pretending to be my friend just to get that good-guy image you're supposed to work for, but because of you I've never been happier."

Yamamoto looked down. He was lost for words. "T-Tsuna, I—I…"

"Thank you for being a friend of mine. Thank you for confiding to me. Thank you for sticking around."

He jerked his eyes upwards in shock.

She smiled. "And…thanks for living, Yamamoto."

At that moment of cheesiness, Yamamoto was going to say something that would accompany the cheesy atmosphere, but never got the chance when Lambo ruined the mood for the two cheesy fools…along with Gokudera. Soaring in spirals on his…um…rocket thingamajigger, the five-year-old and the swearing teenager who clung onto the rear with all his life made their way through the door and right into Tsuna's bed.

Tsuna could only imagine that Lambo and Gokudera got into yet _another_ disagreement, thus an eruption of complete disaster. 'Curse you Gokudera and your hot-headedness.'

"HIII!" she shrieked.

Supposedly, the contraption landed on Tsuna…but it didn't. Yamamoto, doing the heroic and manly thing, pushed the girl away from the danger and took it himself, except the rocket didn't happen to hit him. Instead, when the funnel of the rocket plunged into the mattress, sending Gokdera flying right on top of Yamamoto, a pink bazooka slipped out of Lambo's enormous afro and engulfed both Yamamoto and Gokudera.

POOF! Pink smoke exploded.

"E un'altra cosa, moron de la frontera!"

"Ora, ora, Gokudera, nessun bisogno di essere..."

The significant pause supplemented the dispersion of the hazy smoke. When it cleared, right before her stood two remarkably handsome men who resembled the two boys who vanished. Tsuna's eyes nearly popped out. 'What the mother of Reborn is that!' She blinked a couple times. 'It's—it's—it's…'

The older-looking Yamamoto dude suddenly smiled. "Hey! Tsuna shrunk!"

"REBORN?" Tsuna cried anxiously, turning to the door.

The door remained undisturbed.

'Dangflabbit. I hate you, Reborn.'

* * *

On the front porch of the Sawada's, there stood three men. One was a tall Italian with bright yellow hair and piercing ice blue eyes. Another was hailed from Hong Kong with a smaller stature than the tallest yet similar to the last one. The last one was the youngest; he too was Italian, possessing dark purple hair and a punk-like getup.

When the doorbell was rung, there was a faint "I'll get it!" heard. The door was opened, revealing Nana being towered by the three men. She blushed madly.

"Excuse me, miss," said the man from Hong Kong, acknowledging her politely, "we hate to be a bother, but is there by any chance a man called Reborn within your abode?"

"I…" Before the flustered woman could respond, Reborn popped up behind her and told her that he could take things from here. "Th-thank you, Reborn-san," she said, and then scurried off to continue her chores.

"Gentlemen," Reborn began, "won't you come in so we may get started?"

* * *

**A/N:** In today's chapter, what we have here are 8027 and 1827 moments! What will happen next? And when will the band finally get together? IN THE NEXT CHAPTER, OF COURSE.


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own KHR. DUR. Tralalala...

* * *

Tsuna stared at the two men with wide eyes. The two men looked at her back.

"O mio…" breathed out the older Gokudera version.

"Eh?" The Yamamoto-duplicate cocked his head towards the other, smiling carefree-like.

Gokudera-the-replica snapped out of his daze (in which, thankfully, caused him to avert his creepy staring at Tsuna) and narrowed his eyes angrily at him.

"Jyuudaime did not shrink, baseball-idiot!" the Italian snarled. "The stupid cow-child just sent our past-selves into the future, remember?"

"Ah, right!" The Yamamoto-man snapped his fingers, apparently having it all come to him at once. Gokudera slapped his forehead, apparently wondering why he has to deal with the other man's idiocy. Tsuna could just tell just by watching them.

"How can you possibly forget? I warned you about ten minutes ago!"

"Haha, gomen! I kind of forgot!"

"What the heck!" Tsuna cried aloud. Just what was going on?

The men turned back to her. "Oh, Jyuudaime!" Gokudera fell onto his knees and bowed, unnerving Tsuna even more. "My apologies! We did not mean to frighten you!"

'Too late for that!' She eyed them warily. She knew very well now that they were Gokudera and Yamamoto from the future, but the very thought made her feel uncomfortable. And what's more, they still knew her years later in the future. Well, _of course_ they would still know her! After all, her future self did try to convince Yamamoto to join the band; therefore they still knew one another. Gokudera…Well, he was tied onto this disaster tightly enough to not be swayed loose. Not that the fella would choose the option of getting off anyway.

'Wait a minute!' Tsuna stared at Yamamoto with wide eyes. 'He's wearing a suit, just like Gokudera. Could that mean that he…?'

_"B-but what if whatever choices we make still doesn't waver the future because that was what developed tomorrow's tomorrow? I-I mean, I don't think that there's ever the chance of the future to come to a change because, well, perhaps it was meant to be."_

That was what Tsuna had told this generation's Yamamoto when they were conversing about him being persuaded by the future Tsuna. He said that whatever choices he made that were to be affected by her or any musical influence could cause some sort of alternation on the future, a risk that is not worth taking. But maybe what Tsuna said _was_ right. Whatever they do, it would become their future they already know of. It's not by choice; it's fate.

Her mind had gone wired with the possibilities of how the sports prodigy—or likely the soon-to-be musician—had joined. There was one favored theory that the boy had decided that he should join the band because he wanted to grow closer to Tsuna, but it was immediately banished. She didn't want to get her hopes too high, even if Yamamoto had said that he liked her the way she was, and it was seldom to _never_ _ever_ heard by the ears of Sawada Tsunayoshi.

Suddenly, her reverie was broken when Yamamoto knelt down and picked her up.

"Hiii!" Tsuna squeaked and involuntarily gripped onto his blue cotton shirt. Realizing what she had done, Tsuna went pink from embarrassment and tried to give them much space as possible, which didn't work out so well seeing how the man was cradling her close.

She felt Yamamoto's chest rumble from his amused chuckles as he gently settled her down onto the bed.

"Ow, ow!" She winced. Apparently, her broken limbs weren't supposed to be in such position.

"Sorry 'bout that," Yamamoto said, stuffing a pillow underneath her leg and behind her back.

"N-no worries." Tsuna watched as Yamamoto pulled the rocket thingamajigger off the mattress, in which left a big imprint on the surface, and settled it onto the floor.

"There you go! Now you can rest better," he said, patting his hands.

"Oi, moron! I could've done that," Gokudera growled. His green eyes were flashing.

"Aw, come off now, Gokudera," Yamamoto said in a tone that was suspiciously teasing. "No need to get so possessive even ten years prior."

The Italian grounded his teeth as his face darkened. "Yamamoto…"

"No, you're right. You were possessive from the start."

"Yaamaamootoo…"

'What is Yamamoto doing?' Tsuna blinked at this. Gokudera was fuming. Yamamoto was smiling. 'Is he trying to get throttled?'

"Now what would Tsuna say if I told her that you were being a pedo—"

"THAT'S IT!"

Gokudera whipped out _dynamites_ (and to think that mature and grown-up Gokudera had given up explosions years ago) and lunged for Yamamoto who reached something from behind—it was a _sword_. It was latched onto his belt from the behind that Tsuna didn't notice till now.

Just what the heck was he doing with a sword?

"Maa, maa, Gokudera! I was just joking!"

"Joking my ass!"

"G-guys! We're in a _hospital_, so please—!" Tsuna attempted to shout over. But just when Gokudera was about to do something stupid, a familiar voice cut in.

"Yara yara, che cosa sta succedendo?"

"Splendida. Splendida culo. La mucca è stupido anche qui," Gokudera grumbled ruefully, dropping his arms to his sides like ragdolls. "How could I forget?"

Lo and behold Bovino standing up and running his fingers through his curly hair. His open green eye scanned the room in a lazy fashion, and then he spotted Tsuna. "Tsuna?"

"B-Bovino!" Tsuna broke into a grin, utterly relieved that there was something distracting Gokudera (now the hospital can stand without it crumbling to smithereens!). Additionally, she had actually missed the suave teen who would remarkably grow up from the whiny and spoiled brat. "I thought I wouldn't see you again! Er, well, your future self that is."

Bovino's eye widened. "So…you believe me then?"

"Yeah, I do. Sorry for not believing you from the start, Lambo."

It was a surprise that the older teen had glomped Tsuna into a tight hug. "Nessuna preoccupazione, Decimo," he said. When he rubbed his cheek against hers, Tsuna blushed. "I'm happy that you know it is truly me."

Yamamoto leaned in. "Better be careful, Lambo. You know how jealous Gokudera gets," Yamamoto broached quietly.

"Yara yara, that man needs to cool down."

The two males traded fairly amused glances as the flaxen Italian behind them was blatantly burning with rage. In fact, they could literally feel the heat emanate from him. It was…quite interesting in a way. Actually, this terrified Tsuna. Couldn't they all get along? And how is Gokudera still the same hot-headed guy she knew and not-loved (you'd think the he would grow up a bit)?

They were launched into another row—or in this case, Gokudera shouting at them whereas they were trying to deviate the topic. Yamamoto and Lambo then started to pick on Gokudera ruthlessly, having their own sort of fun that Tsuna did not understand. They kept mentioning about the man's possessiveness towards…well, she wasn't exactly sure. Tsuna had a feeling that it was her, but then again, what reason would Gokudera feel obligated to keep an eye on her?

Unless it was that stupid friendship thingy again. Oh, and the statement about her being like his deceased mother.

Now that burned her insides like hot coal on a grill.

'Does Gokudera still see me like that?' Tsuna wondered somewhat anxiously, returning her eyes upon the Italian man. 'Well, probably not. He's different than usual. The watchfulness, for example.'

He does flicker his gaze onto her frequently. However, it strangely didn't unnerve her, like how Bovino—or future Lambo—brought her hand to his lips when Tsuna traveled to the future the very first time. Perhaps it was the influences of the imminent that operated her so, that she wouldn't react like how she normally would but like her adult self.

Now come to think of it, if Tsuna was somehow becoming to be immune to these kinds of advances, her responding so nonchalantly, then what chaos would she have to deal in the future? It nearly made her blanch from the horror of the epic strain. How could she not erupt into fits of flustering?

And just WHAT did Yamamoto mean by Gokudera getting JEALOUS about?

Curious, curious, curious…

* * *

"So you know Tsuna from school?" Reborn asked, placing his teacup down.

Hibari gave a curt nod, delicately sipping his tea.

"What a gentleman you are!" Nana gushed. Her cheeks turned rosy from elation. To think that her Tsunayoshi would be this popular with the boys! "I am sure that she would be utmost grateful for you to bring her book-bag and homework! Now, where is that girl anyway?"

"Oh, I assigned her to run an errand for me, if you don't mind, Nana-san." The man in the fedora looked at her and shot her a charming smile, in which worked effectively.

"Not at all," she giggled. His smiles were nearly as dashing as her hubby's.

Suddenly, beeps went off, resonating from the kitchen.

"Oh, the cookies must be done. And I better check on the stew." Nana stood up. "I'll be right back."

After she left, Colonnello quirked a brow and murmured to Reborn in Italian, "When's the meeting gonna take place? It's not like we have the time, kora."

"You think we can with an audience?" Reborn subtly gestured to Hibari, who was scrutinizing them carefully.

They would never admit it, but the men felt as though they were being visually probed under an official detective eye, as if they were guilty of smuggling gems or holding a murder clue—it was rather perturbing and grating, excluding Fon, who was consuming his drink like a Buddah incarnated, in his own peaceful world where the llamas roam free and there is no such thing as conflict. Oh, and he also held an uncanny resemblance to the boy. How odd.

Colonnello, impressed every time whenever the Hong Kong man never abase himself from composure, took another glimpse at his friend to see if there were any signs of breaking. Nope. Still relaxed.

"Fon, I know that we all know this, but I got to say it again," Skull said in Spanish. "That kid looks _exactly_ like you."

"And the sky is blue and the grass is green, kora," the blonde pretended to lament. Skull did not appreciate the man's sarcasm.

"Indeed the boy does," Fon agreed. "It's peculiar."

The purple-haired man nodded. "He's not your lovechild, is he?"

Not even a twitch. "No, of course not."

Sure, because heaven knows that the man could still be a virgin.

"I'd say we get the cookies and scram," Colonnello said in French.

"Now wouldn't that be rude?" Reborn snorted.

"You know, for once, I agree with Colonnello," Skull piped in German. "Get the cookies and scram."

"No one cares what you think, moron," Reborn and Colonnello said in unison. Skull hung his head, depressed.

"Well, what do you propose we should do?" Fon asked in Chinese.

Before anyone could say anything, a demanding voice gathered their attention. "Just what the hell are you four talking about?"

"What was that?" Skull said, eyes going wide.

"It…came in this room," Colonnello said, looking around.

"Oi," came the same dark tone. Everyone narrowed their gazes at Hibari. He glared at them with strong intensity that nearly made them blink—well, Skull already did.

"You mean, you were the one who said that?" Fon asked.

Hibari gave him a look.

"Well, this is interesting." Reborn leaned back in his seat, observing the boy with newfound interest. "You haven't uttered a word since you came in." Which was true. The prefect just knocked on the door, handed the book-bag to the mother, and was ushered to a seat, excitedly invited by the woman herself.

Hibari slowly arched an eyebrow.

"You know Tsuna, yes?" The abrupt change in topics caught everyone off guard.

"I do," Hibari responded coolly.

A smirk spread across the Italian's lips. "Very interesting."

* * *

"Oi, Yamamoto, go do what Jyuudaime wanted you to do," Gokudera ordered.

"Which one, Gokudera?"

"You know which one, bastard!" he snapped.

Now that Tsuna got a closer look, she could see how awfully weary he was—dark circles around his eyes and fatigue clouding his dulled green eyes. Was the future Gokudera prone to insomnia or something?

She watched Lambo and Gokudera exit the room, leaving Yamamoto behind.

"Sorry about that," Yamamoto said, smiling sheepishly and scratching the back of his head. "We couldn't help it. I mean, if you see a golden opportunity, you wouldn't waste any moment not seizing it, right?"

She shrugged. "I guess."

"Oh, and sorry about Gokudera's temper too. I know that he's a spitfire, especially as a kid, but I assure you that he's not often like this in the future."

Tsuna pursed her lips. "But…why was he like that?"

"Had a bad day," Yamamoto said, his smile evolving its bashfulness. "Gokudera is the busiest man I know, and at times I wish I could work as hard as he, but that'd be impossible. That man's been getting loads and loads of paperwork, business arrangements, and even band practice before we poofed here, and I am sure that he's stressing about getting right to it all when we return."

That explains the weariness the man was showing.

"How is he, usually?" she asked, curious.

"Collected, calculative, and cool. Plus sarcastic, a cynic—a bit like you," he said.

She blinked. "But, um, I'm neither sarcastic nor cynical," she said, frowning in dissent. 'I think,' she added mentally.

"Haha, you are, actually, when you get older." He patted her head as if she was a youngling too naïve to comprehend. Tsuna almost sighed from this.

"I see," she said, a bit dryly.

"Yeah, but he is also very loyal and trustworthy, and he tends to be cheerful when you're around."

Now this surprised her. "Gokudera? Cheerful? Around _me_?"

The man nodded. "It's hard trying to recall how disagreeable you two used to be," Yamamoto said, a nostalgic gleam twinkling in his dark, warm eyes. "But as time passes by, your relationship with him grows strong."

'Uh, yeah right.' Didn't take a genius to figure out how dubious Tsuna was feeling, and when he saw her expression he laughed.

"I'm serious!"

"Um, sure."

"No, really," he insisted. "I would tell you all about it, but I don't really want to spoil the surprise."

'And boy, what a surprise it'll be.' Tsuna had to pause after the immediate thought that shot out through her mind. She always knew she had a bit of dry wit, but she would have never thought it'd develop anymore than that. Hmm, maybe older Yamamoto was right. 'Well, we'll see, I guess.'

"So…what did you want to talk about?" Tsuna asked.

"Mmm. Tsuna, I'm not the first friend you should have made."

Tsuna blinked—at the answer and the suddenness. It took her a moment for her mind to wrap around what he had just said, and she replied slowly, "What do you mean? Of course you a—"

"I'm not saying that I'm not your friend, I'm saying that there was someone else you should had at least befriended before me."

"B-but who?"

"Gokudera, silly," he said, smiling.

"What?" She stared at him. "Wait, we all still knew one another in the future, right? You, Gokudera, and me?"

He nodded.

Well…Gokudera _was_ the one who proposed to establish a firm friendship and wouldn't go away no matter how many times she told him that she wasn't worth befriending. Plus they didn't get along so well. Tsuna didn't see what sparked between them as friendship—they could barely tolerate each other, it seemed. Tsuna shook her head. "No, you've got to be kidding me. I'd be surprised that we didn't try to strangle each other in the future."

This time, Yamamoto guffawed loudly, startling her. "Now that's something to see!" He slapped his knee and howled some more.

She gave him a confused frown. "It wasn't _that_ funny, was it?"

He wiped a tear. "Actually, it was."

"This isn't what you really were going to tell me, is it?"

Somehow, the man was able to sense the girl's nervousness even though it was not outwardly shown. "Let's try it this way. Remember the times when you used to struggle being, what, not-so socially retarded?"

She bit down on her lip. She wasn't expecting to hear that from him. How embarrassing. "Um, yes?"

"Well, did you realize how well you're keeping up a conversation with me? Someone you're unfamiliar with?"

"Y-yeah, but I am familiar with you. You're Yamamoto. You're, like, the only person who I managed to retain a good friendship with."

"No, Tsuna, you've been with my past self. We're practically two complete strangers."

"But you're not like anyone else," she insisted. "It's like whenever I'm near you, I have nothing to worry about. Future or past, as long as it's you, Yamamoto, I'm able to talk to you freely like this, I'm able to be happy." The small girl halted briefly and looked up at him shyly after watching her fingers toying with the hem of the blanket. "Um, I mean, if you feel the same way, I suppose it'd make sense. B-but if you don't know what the heck I'm talking about or that what I just said to you was completely unrelated to what you feel—"

She felt a large hand cover her mouth.

"Tsuna, it's okay," he chuckled. "My past self was elated to have you as a friend too."

Her eyes brightened. "R-really?"

"Of course! But really Tsuna, Gokudera was willing to be your first and genuine friend. He's trying his hardest to be there for you, but don't you see that you're pushing him away?"

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Tsuna, your future self told me and someone else about your past, essentially. You, or rather, she recognized what big mistake she had made. Knowing that I would be sent to the past, she told me this to tell you: Don't neglect the opportunities that wait for you." He smiled warmly and touched her shoulder. "Like I said before, when there's the golden opportunity, you shouldn't waste any moment not seizing it."

She furrowed her brows. "But…But it's not as if whatever I do would change the future that I already have, right?"

"You might be surprised of the things you do would actually impact the future," he responded cryptically.

'What's that supposed to mean? A yes or a no?' Rather than frowning from perplexity, she fiddled the blanket again, incapable of conjuring an answer.

Yamamoto didn't seem to need one because the few seconds afterwards he said, "You have to learn how to accept, even when it's hard, like accepting Gokudera."

"So…you're saying that I should put effort into befriending him?"

"Not befriending him, but receiving the friendship he's giving you. It'll naturally bloom into the friendship you had always been longing for, then."

"I…don't know if that's possible," she said in a small voice. "I mean, Gokudera and I have so many differences that it'll contradict—"

"Tsuna, you think too much," he sighed, shaking his head.

Tsuna turned red. How much did adult Yamamoto know about her, anyway? It was as if he studied her autobiography or something, if she did write one in the future. Maybe he just picked up some things about her as time passed by, like catching her zoning out or preoccupied by her many thoughts. It amazed her of how he didn't get bored of her right away, but stuck with her for _ten bloody years_. It made her feel slightly faint.

Once again, Tsuna caught herself subjected to her fretful thoughts that she didn't notice until afterwards that Yamamoto was staring at her…

His eyes…They seemed so sad, them scrutinizing every injury marring her features. The bandages, the casts, and though he couldn't see it, Tsuna had a feeling that Yamamoto could envision the fractured ribs that could have pierced her heart or lungs. Tsuna didn't really think about it, but she _could have_ died.

Died from breaking Yamamoto's fall.

"Yamamoto," she whispered, "it's—it's okay."

He broke his stare and looked at her squarely in the eye. She felt her heart thump painfully. Yamamoto, the younger one, the sports prodigy and not the sword-wielding one—she wondered if the affable boy was still mourning about despite her reassurances. She wondered that if not, that if he continued to drag guilt behind him, then would his eyes appear this sad the next time she sees him?

And then he enveloped her into a hug.

"You can do amazing things, Tsuna. You need more confidence in yourself, and you will see."

After moments passed, they separated, gazed at one another, and smiled. Gokudera and Lambo eventually came back in, both surprisingly not squabbling like how Tsuna had expected them to do. Perhaps they finally reached at a civil age, just like how Yamamoto said.

"All done?" Gokudera said gruffly.

"Yup," Yamamoto chirped. Back to his goofy self, apparently.

"Time's almost up," Lambo said. "Well, it was nice to see you again, Tsuna."

"Same here," she replied, smiling.

The swordsman didn't say anything, but he didn't need to. They exchanged glances and were satisfied.

She thought of what he had told her.

'Maybe this way I could make things better…for Gokudera.'

Could the future really be altered?

"Take care, Jyuudaime."

She nodded. "You too, Gokudera."

For some reason, remorse flashed across his eyes. She knew that it was remorse—what else could it be? But why would he express something like that?

"Oh, I've forgotten." Lambo dug into his pocket and pulled out a note. "This was taped at the corner of the door." He handed it to her.

She blinked and took the paper, then reading aloud, "_Dear Dame-Tsuna, I've gone home to do business. Complain and I'll shoot you. Reborn_." Tsuna rubbed her temple. "Geez…"

* * *

**A/N:** The reason why I didn't make Gokudera into a puppy tailing after Tsuna with starry eyes is because of one major reason: They are not in the world of mafias. Gokudera does not see Tsuna as the great and powerful leader who had shown him grace by rescuing him; he sees Tsuna as the loner girl who saved him that one fateful day, and she happened to remind him of his mother. Gokudera, as you guys all know, have one heck of a temper and is prone to arguments, thus why Tsuna sometimes feels little tolerance for him and often fears him. Gokudera, on the other hand, is trying to befriend her but is frustrated when she's not even trying to accept him.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN:** Okay, turns out that I did write about Yamamoto taking over his dad's dojo! I was rereading the chapters and found it! YAY!

**DISCLAIMER:** Don't own KHR. DUR.

**To: **those who love Ryohei!

* * *

Tsuna didn't realize that she had been holding her breath when the boys came back from the future. Pink smoke exploded, smothering the three males, until seconds later and lo and behold the present Yamamoto, Gokudera, and Lambo in their rightful time period.

Lambo had this constipated look on his face, and the way he staggered on his feet made Tsuna wary. Yamamoto and Gokudera, however, appeared to be expressionless, the corners of their lips turned downward in what seemed to be exhaustion.

"Um," she began, "welcome back."

They flicked their dull gazes at her simultaneously, causing her to flinch.

"Etooo…"

"I have to goooo!" Lambo suddenly cried. His face was scrunched up, as if he had sniffed dung.

A vein throbbed on the Italian's forehead. "Stupid cow! You should've gone when you had the chance!" Gokudera snapped impatiently.

Yamamoto's shoulders went slump.

Tsuna's eyebrows furrowed with puzzlement. 'Just what happened when they were in the future?' Nothing bad, hopefully, but what could she expect regarding the unusualness from the boys, especially Yamamoto now that he was being quite lifeless, a stark contrast to his typical happy-go-lucky personality. She didn't like it.

She fisted the fabric in her hand and licked her lips in apprehension. What should she say? She was never good with words. They get jumbled up in her head and when she thinks of a good one to articulate, it gets lost after she opens her mouth. It's either she thought of what to say for too long that her mind trailed off or that a white blankness blanketing her thoughts was the reason. This made her realize that even though Reborn had tutored her well in the facets of humiliation, tolerance, and academics, defection would always be suspended between improvising and the starting line. Reborn couldn't help her with that, not that he would try anyway.

The adult Yamamoto was wrong—wrong about how she could do amazing things. How could she? She didn't even know how to comfort Yamamoto from whatever he was sad about—if he was sad, anyway. Tell him that everything would be alright? That he had nothing to worry about? That him being a sports prodigy and son of a famous sushi chef should remind him that he had a bright future ahead of him, especially since he was going to inherit his father's dojo?

Heck no.

Even if flattering would drive away the black cloud hovering over his head—in which Tsuna doubted that it would work—she would never bring herself to say it. It was too… materialistic. Acquisitive. Avaricious. Irrelevant. Yeah, definitely irrelevant to anything at all. And besides, Yamamoto wasn't like that, someone who could be easily pleased by such telling, but it kind of made the situation difficult. She didn't know how to comfort someone, let alone talk to someone.

And the worst of all was that there was a little voice in her head, sounding ironically like Yamamoto from the future, urging her to _talk to Gokudera_. As if that could be something simple to do. She preferred it that the man hadn't said anything at all—it just made Tsuna uncomfortable.

It was involuntarily decided that Tsuna was left to do nothing but absently watch Gokudera and Lambo bicker. Yamamoto did the same.

"Must. Tol-er-ate," Lambo sniffed, his big green eyes watering.

In the end, Gokudera dragged the five-year-old to the bathroom, reluctantly leaving Yamamoto and Tsuna alone in the hospital room. It made Tsuna wonder why Gokudera gave her such a long look before closing the door behind him.

'But never mind that,' she told herself. She glanced at Yamamoto, whose face turned solemn. 'There has to be _something_ that I can do for Yamamoto.'

Like what?

"Tsuna."

Startled, Tsuna nearly felt her heart jump up at her throat. "A-ah, h-hai?"

She was surprised to hear him speak, looking at him with wide eyes. He looked back at her, only regarding her expressionlessly again.

"Let me join the band."

* * *

It was her second day in the hospital and she was transferred to another room. Unlike her previous room, this one was bigger and had two other occupants. The idea of sharing a room had made her nervous, but when they introduced themselves to her Tsuna decided that it wasn't going to be so bad after all.

Kyoko was a frail and pretty girl who offered Tsuna a reassuring, polite smile. She was kind and friendly and warm; she reminded Tsuna strongly of Yamamoto. Tsuna had missed the big boy's cheerfulness, but she was sure that he was going to come around soon enough.

Hana, on the other hand, immediately gave Tsuna an impression of a mean girl. Her half-lidded cold eyes and tight-lipped scowl wanted to make Tsuna runaway if she could, but after getting to know her for quite a bit it was later understood that Hana's personality was just like that. She wasn't mean, but tough and wise—Tsuna admired that quality of her more so than she did Kyoko's sweetness. How far in life could only sweetness take you in the world? No, people like Hana could finish the race in life, but people like Kyoko, nonetheless, were so nice to be around with.

They didn't become friends instantaneously, however. With an exiguous amount of time they shared, of course it wouldn't suit Tsuna to be having an amiable conversation with them, yet they were perfectly settled with one another's presence. In retrospect, this was the first time ever that Tsuna had been comfortable with other girls. Being plain and boring and, in a nutshell, Dame-Tsuna, Tsuna had always been jealous of the other girls in school who tittered and gossiped amongst themselves. They were so attractive, even though they would paint their faces with makeup, and Tsuna was so not. And yet here she was, sharing a room with two very lovely girls and not writhing in shame.

She could finally say that the future had been a good influence on her for once. Then again, being subjected to future Gokudera's staring and future Lambo's kisses and not be flustered by such _was_ also a good thing, right? And there were surely many more that the future had inflicted on her…

Well, it's nothing serious to think about.

Later that day found Tsuna listening to Kyoko with rapt attention. Kyoko was telling the stories that had gone inside the hospital—some spooky, some heart-touching, and some funny. Tsuna knew that the spooky stories were all rumors and made-up, but the idea of ghosts of dead patients lingering in the hallways made her shiver to her bones. Hana spent an inordinate amount of time flipping through fashion magazines. When Kyoko was done with her stories, Hana made a retching sound at a particular picture.

Kyoko glanced at her right curiously. "What is it, Hana-chan?"

"This!" The dark-haired girl lifted the magazine to show what provoked her reaction.

Tsuna blinked. "A woman?"

"Take a look at what she's wearing," Hana pressed.

"What's wrong with what she's wearing?" Kyoko asked.

"It's a fashion _disaster_!" She set the magazine down on her lap and glared at the image. "I swear, the designers these days have horrendous tastes."

"Maybe it's the new style, like how girls nowadays would get dark tans and dye their hair blonde."

"Uh, Kyoko, that was a long time ago and it went downhill _fast_. The princess theme is in now."

Frilly pink dresses and glass slippers popped up in Tsuna's head. "It is?" she blurted.

Hana huffed. "Honestly, Tsuna, you're just as old-fashioned as Kyoko! And Kyoko's been stuck here for four years."

Kyoko had weak health since birth, and by the time she was ten-years-old she had a seizure and was rushed to the hospital. She lived here ever since. Her illness wasn't terminal, but it would be dangerous to push her luck. It was extraordinary how Kyoko remained kind-hearted and cheerful despite her misfortune of never stepping out into the world, only gazing out the window.

Tsuna shrugged helplessly. "I just…don't pay attention to those kinds of things."

"Well you should. By the time we get better, I'll take you shopping."

Tsuna doubted that they would know each other for that long, but went along with it. "Okay then."

Kyoko clapped her hands together. "I think it's a splendid idea! I think I might even ask one of my tutors if she could bring me some fashion magazines."

The rest of the day went on like that. Talks about fashion were tedious to Tsuna's ears, so she took the liberty of zoning out. And then she thought of the boys who returned to the past. She didn't really expect how they would be once they came back, but nothing like how they were yesterday. Perhaps hearing Lambo making a haughty proclamation about him fulfilling his dream to be a star, Gokudera snorting at nothing in particular, and Yamamoto laughing about how fun it was to travel to the future would be normal.

What's more, Yamamoto never told her why he reconsidered his decision about the band recruitment. When she asked, he waved off the question and walked out of the room, leaving her shocked. Gokudera and Lambo never came back either. Reborn did, however, and dumped all her homework on her lap. He then told her that he lied to her mother about how she was on a school field trip and all the necessities were packed for each student. Tsuna was amazed how gullible her mother was, or was it how convincing her tutor was?

Anyway, Tsuna was glad that her mother wasn't going to be fretful of her condition. She was concerned about it until Reborn came, but now she had something else on her mind, and that was Yamamoto. What was up with him? How bad was the future for him to accept? And how did it change his mind about joining the band? The last inquiry made Tsuna stiffen: Did her future self force Yamamoto to join? Did she _threaten_ him?

Well, it'd be no wonder why Yamamoto was acting like that! Her future self must have done something to compel him to become a band member, and that was also the reason why he was being so indifferent towards her! She couldn't understand why, though. Couldn't her future self use a tactic that didn't have the boy feeling terribly down? So terribly down that Yamamoto didn't bother to conceal his emotion with a forced laugh?

It wasn't like Yamamoto to not force a laugh when he's upset. _He usually never went on without laughing_.

* * *

When night befell, everyone pulled their blankets over their shoulders and fell asleep.

Well, Hana did, anyway. She was a fast sleeper, a pretty deep one too.

Kyoko had insomnia so she often read until she could sleep.

Tsuna recently went to the bathroom, but she pretended that she was already asleep. She kept still, snuggled in the warmth of the comforter. When slumber nearly had its grip on Tsuna, the door creaked open and a nurse called out in a hushed whisper, "Kyoko-san?"

She heard pages of a book tussle, being set down. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Your brother is here. Should I send him away…?"

"Oh, no! Please bring him here, if it isn't any trouble that is."

"Of course not."

'Brother?' Tsuna wondered. Kyoko never mentioned of having a brother, but then they never really talked much today.

When the door opened again, footsteps shuffled across the floorboards. She could tell that it was either a male or a heavier nurse because the wood groaned under the weight.

"Onii-chan," Kyoko murmured.

'Onii-chan…?'

"Kyoko!"

Tsuna slapped her mouth to keep form gasping. 'I know that voice!'

"Onii-chan, not so loud! You'll wake up the others."

"Gomen, Kyoko. How was your day today?"

"Good. Hana-chan and I got a new roommate. Her name is Tsuna-chan."

"That's extremely good!" There was a pregnant pause with humming. "That name sounds familiar."

"Maybe a fellow classmate at your school?"

"Maybe."

'Oh yeah,' Tsuna thought, 'I did introduce myself to him the other day when I asked him to join the band.'

"How was your day?" Kyoko asked in turn.

"Oh, EXTREMELY well! The boxing club managed to get Airawara to join!"

Their conversation went on like that, going on about what they did and the like. Tsuna was drifting away, her eyes getting heavy, but what got her awake was when Kyoko admonished, "Onii-chan, you should stop. Use all that money for yourself for once! Like finding somewhere else to live—I heard from my tutors that the area was going to be demolished and used as a parking lot. You have to move out."

'Huh,' Tsuna thought, interested.

"I can't, not yet anyway. I have to pay for your operation."

"I'll be alright. I'm worried about you."

"I'll be fine, Kyoko, really! I mean, I'm sure one of my friends would let me crash at his place until I earn enough money."

"Onii-chan…"

"Don't worry, Kyoko, I'll be fine, I'll be fine. Once I get the money for your operation, then we'll be together again."

There was a brightening of her tone. "Just like family again?"

"Just like family again," he assured.

And then it clicked.

Why he falls asleep in class, why he had various jobs, why he lived in a cruddy apartment, why he asked if he would be paid if he joined the band…He was doing it all for the sake of his little sister.

Now it made sense. Tsuna didn't know how long Sasagawa was doing this—four years?—but it was obvious that he had been doing it for a while. And…and he was so committed to his sister…He sacrificed so much of his time just so he could get that operation to restore Kyoko's health. There wasn't a single fifteen or sixteen-year-old who could be so damn munificent, so bighearted.

It made Tsuna's heart wrench for the two siblings. Knowing what her sempai was doing…it made it so that she and everyone else were so freaking selfish whereas he hadn't made an impression that he cursed the life he had. It was more like…he accepted his fate and lived life to the fullest. He knew that as a big brother, he was obliged to fulfill a responsibility, and that was to look after his sister.

Tsuna changed her mind. Though she admired Hana's wit and strength, there was no one who came as close to as Sasagawa.

She had no idea why his parents weren't seen when Gokudera and Tsuna had been following Sasagawa, whether he was disowned like how Gokudera theorized or that he was really, really poor. But one thing's for sure, she felt like kicking Gokudera in the groin for suggesting blackmail to make Sasagawa join the band. What a dickhead.

When the siblings departed, saying their "I love you" and "Take care", Kyoko remained silent for a long time. Then the girl finally settled down and released a sob.

Tsuna listened to Kyoko's muffled sobbing.

And eventually, both girls fell asleep.

* * *

Reborn visited Tsuna regularly to keep her on track with her studies. Hard to say that the nurses and female patients weren't enamored by him already. Hana, who always had a thing for older guys, was swooning at the sight of him. Tsuna didn't think that she liked foreign men as well. Kyoko, nonetheless, remained posed, the same. Perhaps Kyoko wasn't interested in guys yet…But there were blushes on her cheeks whenever Reborn looked at her.

Tsuna sighed afterthought. Was she the only person who was impervious to Reborn's charisma? When she first met him, all she could think about was "Demon, demon, demon" because he radiated that impression. And the way he smirked, well, to many they might find it sexy, but to Tsuna it meant evil intentions. It might be some sort of hyper-intuition of hers, something that Reborn often commented that she had. Second to "do with your dying-will"—now, he said that frequently back then.

With other goals in mind now, it seemed that the Italian had no need to remind Tsuna of such. She knew now that there were some risks she had to make and to let her instincts guide her. As much as it sounded like a stupid athlete with no trace of common sense with a portentous attitude, it was, in a way, factual. No matter how dumb it was.

"—in some periods, cultural borrowing proceeded in a systematic matter, with definite ambition."

When she finished reading the passage, Reborn closed the textbook and stuffed it into her book-bag, telling her to read the rest for homework. She sighed and leaned back on the bedboard.

"Looks like you're healing well," Reborn said, patting her cast. "You might be released soon."

"Yeah."

"By the way, you managed to recruit Yamamoto. Good job, now you're given a free question."

That's right. For every recruit Tsuna was successful in, she could ask Reborn anything. So she sat there, pondering what she should ask, but nothing came to mind.

"Uh, can I ask you later?"

"Why not." Reborn stood up. "I'd be going. Take care."

"Bye Reborn."

He left and Tsuna was welcomed by silence again. Hana was meeting with her family that was visiting her, and Kyoko was with her tutor in another room. She wished she had something to read, like the comics she left at home.

She wondered why Gokudera hadn't come visited her even though he wanted to be her friend. Some friend he is.

Just then, the door slammed open. "Visiting to the EXTREME!"

"Hiii!"

"Ara?" Sasagawa's eyes landed on Tsuna. "You're not Kyoko…and Kyoko's not in this room."

"U-uh, sh-she's in the other r-room, getting lessons," Tsuna stammered, trying to calm her pounding heart.

"Right, thanks." Then he stopped and looked at her. "Hey, I know you."

She blinked. "Uh, I'm Sawada Tsuna, the one who asked you to join the band…?"

"Ah! I extremely remember!" He pounded his fist into his palm in realization. "Even though I have no knowledge of music or such whatsoever!"

"Y-yeah."

"Sorry that I turned down your offer. I had my hands full of stuff anyway."

"Ah, it's no problem. I understand your situation."

He arched an eyebrow. "You do?"

'Ah crud.' Tsuna couldn't say that she was eaves-dropping on his and his sister's conversation! For one, Sasagawa looked like he's the kind of person to get pissed off easily. Two, it would be rude of her to tell him that. But mostly because he's a pissy person. "Y-yes I do, with you being b-busy and all…R-right?"

He regarded her for a second and then grinned widely. "Right!"

She made her sigh subtle. 'That was a close one.'

"Hey, what happened to you?"

Tsuna looked at him in confusion, that until she figured out what he was talking about.

"Oh, um, I, uh, fell…"

"That was some extreme fall you took up then."

"Y-yeah. Real extreme. Right."

"Well, hope you get better. See you around, Sawada."

"You too, sempai."

She watched as the boy left, and gave a wistful sigh.

If anything, Tsuna wanted to help out the boy.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Guys, hate to break it to you but _**Tsuna won't be the lead singer**_. I already made that clear in chapter 8.

_"No, I'm not part of the band, I think," she said._

_Yamamoto's eyebrows rose. "Really? Then what are you?"_

_"I don't really know." Tsuna shrugged. "Maybe I might be part of it somehow."_

_"Maybe as the singer."_

_She made a face. "Yeah, and why not shatter a couple eardrums while at it."_

_He chuckled and turned back at the soccer game playing below the bleachers. "Piano?"_

_"I can't play an instrument for the life of me, and that's Gokudera's occupation anyway."_

_"What? Seriously? I can't picture him playing the piano!"_

_Tsuna, apart from of how much she disliked him, grinned in the Italian's favor. "He's surprisingly really good. Reborn wanted him to at least try to see if he still remembered to how to play, so he took out this huge keyboard and set it in front of him. I think Gokudera was nervous at first, I don't know, but once he started it was…" That was when she trailed, unable to quite describe the composition into words. "It was really something."_

_There was a knowing grin playing the boy's lips._

_"W-what?"_

_"You like him."_

_"No I don't." She frowned. "I already told you that."_

_"Yes, you said that he was this and that and mainly infuriating, but regardless you like him deep in your heart."_

_"If so, then it must've been buried somewhere very, very deep," she deadpanned._

_"Oh, I beg to differ; it can't be so deep that your heart doesn't leap out of your chest as you swoon at the sight of him, right?"_

_She gave him a dry look._

So therefore, Tsuna won't be the singer. Maybe she'll learn how to play an instrument? Keep guessing, but she won't be a singer. She has a terrible singing voice.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** No own KHR, DUR, tralalala...

* * *

She wasn't sure how Yamamoto got over his…depression, stoicism, whatever, or when, but one day he was visiting her at an impromptu time. It was slightly hectic.

Hana, Kyoko, and Tsuna's conversation went from fashion magazines (because Hana was obsessed with them) to boys (because there were cute boys in the fashion magazines) to chocolate (because they wanted to see who looked cute enough to eat) to periods (because chocolate often quelled cramping pains) to pads and tampons (because…).

Hana and Kyoko said that they used tampons, and when they asked Tsuna why she wore pads, Tsuna blushed and looked away.

"Well, I did try one on," she admitted, "but it hurt so much!"

Simultaneously, the door was sung open, revealing a chipper Yamamoto.

"Tsuuunaaa!" he bellowed.

The girls jumped in their beds and shrieked like banshees.

Many apologies later, the girls forgave the sports prodigy. Though, when Yamamoto wasn't looking, they leaned towards her and whispered rapidly, "Isn't that the _Yamamoto Takeshi_? Son of the ultimate sushi chef extraordinaire? The baseball and kendo phenomenon?"

Tsuna helplessly nodded at the question. It became difficult when they had to explore more about her relationship with the boy.

"How did you two meet up?"

"Are you guys dating?"

"How did you manage to get hooked up with _the_ Yamamoto Takeshi? I thought he was in New York, USA!"

Tsuna was pretty much flustered by all this, and did her best to answer them without feeling faint.

They didn't seem to believe her answers, or at least Hana didn't. Kyoko just nodded, but there was a skeptic look in her eyes. So when they left the room to leave the two alone, Tsuna almost exhaled visibly out of relief. She lifted her head to see Yamamoto staring at her curiously.

She blushed mildly. "Sorry, you must've been waiting for awhile."

"No, it's okay," he assured her, smiling pleasantly. "I'm glad that you made friends."

Her face became redder. "Well, we—they're not really…" she mumbled, looking back down.

Silence fell upon the both of them. Tsuna struggled to say something else, fearing that the awkward tension would chase away the boy, but when looked back up, she saw that he was simply staring absentmindedly at the wall above her head.

Her brows furrowed. "Y-Yamamoto-san, are you…okay?"

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine, Tsuna." Yamamoto situated himself on her bed. "And call me Takeshi. We're buds, aren't we?"

'What. The. Heck.'

When it finally registered in her head of what he said, she noticed that he was looking at her expectantly. She blushed again and settled her gaze safely on the bed railings. "R-right, we're b-buds." She swallowed. "Takeshi-san."

"No, no, no! No san, just Takeshi."

"T-Takeshi...?"

Yamamoto—or rather Takeshi—smiled brilliantly and brought his legs up to fold them criss-cross. "Yup! Anyway, I see that you're healing well," he noted, glancing at her body, his eyes noticeably softening. "Your arm's now in a sling, but at least your ribs are healed."

"How do you know that?"

"I asked the doctor about it."

"O-oh."

A pause.

"So, anyway—"

"Um, where is—"

They stopped at blinked at the simultaneous blurt.

"You can go—" they said in unison.

"…"

"…"

'This is weird,' Tsuna moped inwardly. "Um, no, really, you—"

"You can go first!" Takeshi chirped, as if Tsuna didn't say anything. He either ignored her or didn't really hear her.

"Right." She rubbed the back of her neck. "Where's Gokudera?"

"Haha, that's what you wanted to ask?" he chuckled. "You'll see him soon enough."

"Okay. Um, how are you?"

"I'm good. You?"

"A bit sleepy, but all's good."

"That's nice to hear. Say, I heard from Reborn-san that he told your mom that you were going to some sort of camp."

"Yeah, he did that so that my mom wouldn't get worried." Then she added snidely, "Of course, it's one of those moments when Reborn would actually consider others before using them as pawns to manipulate."

Takeshi blinked. "Eh?"

"Nothing," Tsuna said, waving dismissively. "So…what did you wanted to say?"

"Oh, well…" He began to laugh, a tad nervously, which surprised Tsuna. What could the sports prodigy be nervous about? If he was nervous, that is…

"Yama…T-Takeshi…?"

"Sorry, Tsuna. I wanted to show you something, _but_…now that I think about it, it seems kind of stupid right now. Maybe at a later time."

Now _that_ was shocking. Yamamoto Takeshi? Embarrassed about something? About _what_ exactly?

'Perhaps…Perhaps he finally wants to tell me what happened in the future?' No, that couldn't be it. She inwardly shook her head. Though it was curious how Takeshi and the others returned with despondent attitudes, they probably didn't want to tell her about that. Anyway, Takeshi said that he wanted to _show_ her something, not tell.

"It's alright," she said, "I'm curious."

He regarded her for a moment, and then shrugged. "'Kay then. I'll be right back."

He slid off the bed, the extracted weight causing the mattress springs to creak, and exited the room. Tsuna sighed through her nose and leaned against the wall behind her. For some reason, she felt a bit put off. Not that she minded Takeshi's abrupt appointment—in fact, it would've been better if he made his visit sooner—but the thing was that…it felt as though there was a boundary between them.

Tsuna was actually hoping the boy would open up and tell her what happened in the future. Why did he, Gokudera, and Lambo come back with weary spirits? The first time Tsuna time-traveled, there wasn't anything wrong, or so it seemed. True, she didn't get to meet their future selves at the time, excluding Lambo, and didn't venture much any further than herself being in a casino in Italy. That and Bel (the weird fashionista guy) was there too.

Could it be that they were…disappointed with the outcome of their future? Somehow, the thought of it made Tsuna nervous. After all, they stayed together for about ten years, doing this band thingamajigger. Was it because of what Tsuna had done? Her future self? 'Just what happened?' Tsuna thought agonizingly.

Five minutes later, Takeshi returned while lugging in a guitar gig-bag with the strap thrown over his shoulder. When he was met with Tsuna's wide-eyed stare, he gave a sheepish smile.

"I can see that you're surprised," he said.

"You have a guitar…Since when did you have a guitar…?"

"It's an electric, actually." He carefully placed the bag on Kyoko's bed and ran the zipper around the outline. Then, he grabbed the neck of the model and pulled it out, revealing a slick navy blue electric guitar. "I think they called it a Fender, or something." He smiled humorously. "I think it's kind of funny how they made names for particular instrument models. Is it the name of the company?"

"I…M-maybe." She eyed the strings that stuck rigidly at the end of the neck, where the tuners were. "Did you already break it?"

"Huh? Oh, haha, not really. I just had some tuning issues, so there were a lot of string replacements for me to go through." He scratched his cheek. "Colonnello was pretty exasperated by how many strings I managed to snap."

"C-Cololonerro?"

"Co-lon-nel-lo," Takeshi pronounced, bouncing the name on his tongue. "He's a foreigner like Reborn-san. He's teaching me how to play the guitar for our band."

That nearly caught her off guard. That's right…Takeshi agreed to join the band…

"But why the guitar?"

"What?"

She looked at him quizzically. "Didn't you pick the guitar to play?"

He laughed. "No, I was picked to play it! Apparently, Reborn-san and Colonnello and their bandmates choose who to be their protégé, and Colonnello happened to see potential in me, which is ironic of how many mistakes I made during the lessons."

'I honestly believed that it was Reborn who had done the picking.' Tsuna observed his fingers. Well, they were long and strong-looking already, most likely from all that baseball and kendo. No wonder why this Colonnello guy picked Takeshi.

How irksome. Now Reborn's bandmates were coming here…almost certainly invading her home as they speak! And just how many were there? 'Gah…I don't even want to know…'

"Can you play a song?" she asked, trying to shake off the anxiety.

"Yeah. Colonnello taught me _Hey Jude_ by the Beatles. Took me awhile to learn the whole thing."

Tsuna smiled encouragingly. "I wanna listen."

And so Takeshi indulged her with one song. When he situated the blue guitar on his lap and the strap over his shoulder, Tsuna couldn't help notice how good he looked with the instrument. Takeshi was meant to be a guitarist.

At first, he stumbled with the chords, strumming the wrong stings, but eventually he got the hand of it. Tsuna watched intently, fascinated as he plucked and strummed the metal strings that vibrated together into a tune. She once listened and saw a man play an acoustic guitar, and the music was much more audible than an electric without a cord plugged in, so she had to lean in close to be able to listen to Takeshi playing.

The song was slow and simple, but it was pleasant to listen. By the time the song ended, she was disappointed. She looked up at Takeshi and grinned widely.

"That was amazing. You're so talented."

He smiled. "I wouldn't say that."

"No, seriously, you are! Baseball, kendo, grades, and now guitar!"

"Actually, I'm more, like, below average."

"What?"

"My old man's secretary hires these super tutors so that I could catch up. I'm just a typical brainless jock."

She casted him a disbelieving look before shrugging. "But still…Super tutors or not, you're one of the top students in class." Tsuna folded her hands on her stomach. "I'm so achromatic. I've got no talent whatsoever."

"Don't say that, Tsuna," he admonished. "I'm sure you've got something that'll wow us all. I am sure of it!"

She smiled dryly. "Yeah, like tripping in midair, that's talent for you."

"Ah, always the pessimistic," he sighed, flicking her forehead.

"Ow! You don't have to abuse me for it."

"You darn deserve it!"

They burst into laughter. When the elation subsided, leaving the two content and calm, a thought came across Tsuna's mind that caused her to bite her lip, concerned.

"Takeshi, I've been wondering…What about your career? What about inheriting your dad's dojo or being a baseball player?"

"I'll be able to do all that."

Her head reeled back. "Wait, what?"

"I realized that…well, I have so much work and expectations pressed onto me that it develops stress… And too much stress would be a damper on my games." His eyes darkened. "That's why I…I attempted to kill myself, and I ended up dragging you along."

"Oh Takeshi…"

"No, Tsuna, let me finish." He smiled at her, but it was a sad one. "Ever since that day when you got hurt, I couldn't bring myself to do anything without feeling guilty. I—I also felt this urge to check on you, you know? To see if you were safe…So I decided to join. Not only to see you, but to make amends for what I had done." He exhaled softly. "On the brighter side, I'm actually burning stress with this band thing. I'm having fun."

Something about what he said didn't seem quite right, however. She frowned and looked down. "Is that why you decided to join?"

"No, not only that. There were…other reasons."

_The future_.

"Like what?"

"I'll tell you on another time, but now, can we just let this go? Please?"

She was nearly run on the impulse of snapping a rebuff. She wanted to grab him by the shoulders and demand what was going on, what did the boys knew that she didn't. The inquisitiveness, more than or less, was, in a rhetorical sense, killing her.

But then, Tsuna wouldn't be a good friend if she pressured her friend into doing something he wouldn't want. She knew that she had to regard to Takeshi's feelings as well, not selfishly think about herself. Someday, he might actually tell her, but just not today.

"Of course."

"Cool." He grinned, more genuine this time. "I have another song to play for you. It's called _Love Me Tender_ by Elvis Presley."

* * *

A few more visitors arrived after Takeshi's last song. Gokudera entered through the door, shouting, "Jyuuudaimeee!" but when he saw Takeshi, he shot the boy an acrimonious look. The sports prodigy, on the other hand, smiled and waved.

The second to come in was a slim man with a long braid hanging on his back. He smiled politely at her, but Tsuna didn't notice it. She was stunned to see someone with an uncanny face that of _Hibari's_. At first glance, she was actually convinced Hibari had come along.

'Holy mother of Reborn!' she had thought in panic from the glance, that until it came to mind that this person was taller than Hibari. And then the hair and the softness in his eyes. Tsuna regarded him warily, even after calming down.

She managed to tear her eyes away from the man when another appeared: a tall blonde man with impressive icy blue eyes. He had a green headband on that was probably meant to keep his bangs back, but yellow strands fell before his eyes anyway.

They introduced themselves as Fon and Colonnello, band members of Arcobaleno.

"So you're Sawada Tsunayoshi, kora?" Colonnello, the blonde, asked in a rough voice, accent marring.

She winced, resisting the urge to salute for whatever odd reason. "Y-yes, sir."

He grunted and turned his back to her, facing the other man.

"No need to worry," Takeshi's voice murmured in her ear. "He says that all the time."

Her brows knitted together. "'Kora'?"

"Yeah. He doesn't mean by it. I don't think that he knows it means 'oi' in Japanese."

"But if he doesn't mean by it, then why does he say it?"

"It's just his quirk, is all. Like you and your twitching."

She frowned. "I don't twitch."

"Sure you do! Your nose just twitched right now—or scrunched. I dunno."

The two men finished their conversation (in Italian or something) and turned their heads back at the kids. Colonnello arched a brow at Tsuna squarely, giving off an expression of dubiety, while Fon settled for smiling politely. Again.

Something told Tsuna that they didn't really like her, or at least Colonnello didn't. She could gladly say that the feeling was mutual if she could. She couldn't put her finger on it; those two radiated something fishy, something mucked-up. They had that _Reborn_ feel to it. And Tsuna didn't really like Reborn, not after all that time spent being tutored by him.

"So, Sawada," Colonnello said, leaning against the wall, "what does Reborn teach you?"

"Didn't you already ask him what he teaches her?" Gokudera said, eyes narrowing.

"I can't trust a single thing of what comes out of that man's mouth, kora!" he snapped.

"Why do you even need to know?"

"Precautions and all that shit."

"Erm." Tsuna wasn't sure who made her more nervous: the small Italian or the big Italian. "He teaches me academics and things like that…"

"Dammit! He told me that he was teaching explosive projectiles, kora!"

'_Why_ would Reborn say something like that!' Well, at least Colonnello didn't believe Reborn. All the way, that is.

Takeshi laughed. "Reborn-san sure is funny!"

"Shut up, baseball freak/Yamamoto," the two present Italians said in unison.

* * *

Long fingers danced across the ivory and ebony, sweeping along the elongation of keys that were set before the man. Immediately, a luxuriant composition filled the room, filled the ears of the room's occupants. Tsuna was swayed by the music that flowed so majestically, and it was obvious that Gokudera, moreover, was bewildered.

Fon made Gokudera's playing seem like it was comprised of a simple nostalgic memory to smile upon one evening day. Fon's playing was the sky. Fon's playing was the earth. Fon's playing was the wind that caressed the leaves that fell from autumn trees. Fon's playing was the sun that rocked away the chills of a crisp early morning.

The man was bloody good.

And it was no freaking exaggeration.

Colonnello and Takeshi were supposedly practicing on the guitar (they were kind of distracted at the moment) while Fon decided to demonstrate his skills to Gokudera, and Tsuna since she was there. She wasn't sure if he did it as a bonus to his self-esteem or that he merely wanted to present before the two. It was puzzling; Fon was rather well-mannered, and patient too despite having such an infuriating student like Gokudera.

The man began to pack away the keyboard set. "So how did you like it?" Fon inquired curiously.

'Oh, and he's gotta be humble too.' Tsuna pretended to smooth down the crinkles on the blanket, landing her eyes somewhere so that it wouldn't appear as though she was unappealingly gawking at him (however, it may be too late for that). "I-I think that you played wonderfully," she came out truthfully.

Gokudera didn't make his response.

Fon nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Sawada-san. Your opinion flatters me very much."

"KYAAA!" The nurses (old and young) were screaming behind the door. The guys had the door barricaded with whatever furniture was lying around. Apparently, word got out that Yamamoto Takeshi (he's quite famous, after all) and a couple of attractive young foreigners (whoever made that one…) were here in this hospital.

"KYAAA!" Tsuna felt a bead of nervous sweat trickle past her neck. If anything, those nurses frightened her. They were mean and scary and crude. And rather desperate too. If they somehow manage to break down the blockade (that doesn't even surprise her), then they'd be in for hell. Yes, even Tsuna too, for the women would go for her throat for "keeping away these ravishing men for herself". Whatever implied for that.

"Wow, these—urk!—nurses sure are, erm, r-rough," Takeshi muttered. He was placing his weight on a chair that was propped underneath the handle. The door continuously lurched one way, nearly kicking the boy to the floor.

"Sheesh, we already had to throw one out of the window," Colonnello said, running a hand through his hair.

They literally did.

"Yamamoto-kun, Colonnello," Fon admonished, pointing at their empty seats.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll get right back to practicing, kora."

"As soon as we rebuild the fort!"

"Now then." The man from Hong Kong cleared his throat and began, "I know that it may be a bit advanced for you, Gokudera-kun, considering how I lived a couple more years than you, but I am sure—"

"Just so you know," he cut in rudely, "we are planning on making a rock band, not a fucking _orchestra_."

Fon was unfazed, nonetheless. Tsuna suspected that the man was used to it, regarding to how Reborn and Colonnello were once his bandmates. "Yes, I am aware of that, Gokudera-kun. I'm sorry, what I should have started off with is that your band funds are currently low."

"What?" Tsuna and Gokudera said.

"Whose equipment are you using as practice? Yamamoto-kun was able to buy his own guitar, but I only have one keyboard to spare, and that belongs to me." He gestured to the set. "Additionally, we have the drums, bass, and vocals ready for practice, yet no positions are filled and no instruments are owned."

The teens exchanged looks. "We're getting there," Gokudera groused.

"Of course," Fon acquiesced.

"We're going to recruit that lawn-head that Reborn-san had his sights on—for whatever reason, I have no fucking clue. The idiot obviously has no talent."

"Just like how you accused of Yamamoto-kun of being a brainless jock?" Fon hinted innocently.

"…Get off my fucking case."

"And as you can see, Yamamoto-kun is progressing well in such short amount of time."

"Alright, I get it!" Gokudera glared daggers at the man. "So what are we going to do about this financial issue? Mooch off of the baseball idiot?"

"That wouldn't be right. What do you think, Sawada-san?" Fon said before Gokudera had the chance to protest.

Tsuna looked up, startled. "U-um, what?"

"You had been quiet in the duration of our conversation. Do you have something you wish to say?"

Tsuna didn't really have the moment to conjure a plan or anything of the sort. She was just sitting there, dazed, idly listening to the banter that was tossed between the two males. It was intriguing, somewhat, actually. But not intriguing enough for her to stay attentive of the talk.

That and the fact that this really nice person resembled remarkably like Hibari, who was nowhere near the word nice. Seriously, though, were they related?

"I didn't give it much of a, erm, thought about it," she admitted sheepishly.

"Then it certainly is a good thing that I came up with a backup." Fon clasped his hands together. "There is a classical music competition coming up in two weeks, in the United States."

"And you expect me to fly across the world just to play a song?" Gokudera said.

"Not just one song, but three. There will be a tournament held in San Francisco, California, where adolescents, such as yourself, would participate for the winning prize of fifty million dollars."

"That sounds a lot," Tsuna gasped.

"It is. It's about four billion yen."

Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Th-the Americans are willing to give up _all that money to one winner_?"

"Apparently so. The money would cover up all the expenses for equipment and other uses as well."

Gokudera scowled. "So all I've got to do is play three songs? That's it?"

"Don't think it'd be simple, Gokudera-kun. Remember, these competitors are highly adept in whatever classical instruments they play."

He folded his arms. "Forty million euros," he murmured.

"Will you do it?" Fon asked.

The absent-minded finger-drumming on his arm indicated that the boy was mulling things over. Gokudera kept the silence going for a few seconds before huffing, "Yeah, sure, whatever."

"Excellent." If it was possible, Fon's happy smile would blind the two of them. "We shall undergo training everyday at four thirty, after school hours."

"Yeah."

"Since you are talented on the piano already, this may be easy for you. However, your skills are rusty, so warm-ups are in order."

"Uh-huh."

"You know where to meet me, of course."

"Yeah."

"I'm sure Yamamoto-kun would graciously lend us a private jet for us to use to fly over to the States. Oh, and you'll need to use your Italian name."

"Great, sure—_wait_, what the hell?"

"It would be appropriate for you to use your Italian name so that—"

"How do you know that I had another name?"

Tsuna blinked owlishly. 'Gokudera had another name?'

"From Reborn," Fon answered calmly.

"Oh." Gokudera settled back.

'…'

It was kind of unbelievable, seeing how they were composed at the mentioning of Reborn.

Anyway…

"But I don't want to be recognized by the Sustantivo family, and they have access to anywhere in each affluent nation."

"Ah, yes, the Sustantivo family has business with the States." Then he recited, "The Sustantivo family is a well-known prestigious lineage running a top industrial unit. It served Italy well in economics." He mused. "In that case, you'll just have to use your Italian name, anyway."

"The hell I am. And why do I have to use it if you know that the Sustantivo would find out their name is being used?"

"Just think about it: If your family—"

"It's not my family," Gokudera growled warningly.

"My apologies. As I was saying, if the Sustantivo family were to discover that you were to participate in such competition, then that would increase the chances of Vongola Decimo's namesake to flourish."

His scowl deepened, his dislike for not getting it yet was evident. "_What_ do you mean by that?"

"You children—"

"We are not children!"

Instead of looking annoyed, Fon's eyes glittered with amusement as he held a sleeve to conceal a growing smile. "Yes, yes, my apologies once again." Despite what he said, Gokudera looked even more furious. "As I was saying, again, you three—Gokudera-kun, Yamamoto-kun, and Sawada-san—are on your way of establishing the Vongola Decimo. If it were to be so, then it would be crucial for you to develop popularity in order for the band to thrive."

"Why would we need popularity?" Tsuna couldn't help but ask.

"I'm glad you asked, Sawada-san. Do you remember listening to songs of bands when you were younger?"

A catchy song from a boy band played in her head. "Yes."

"Are they still around?"

"Um, no."

"Bands come and go. Their fans may be interested in their music for the first time, but as time passes by, new bands will come and the fans will divert their attention elsewhere. Business would run slowly, and eventually no one would buy their music. Any music entertainment department depends on the number of their fans," the man enlightened.

Finally, realization was shown in Gokudera's green eyes. "If we were to launch our first song, it would be difficult for anyone to buy it because no one would know about the Vongola Decimo."

"Yes, and if the public were to find out earlier…"

"The number of purchasers would increase."

"Precisely."

"But why would it be important for me to take after the Sustantivo's name?"

"Well, the band would be well-recognized if the band comprised of the general individuals, such as Yamamoto-kun."

"So the Sustantivo's bastard kid would be beneficial to the name?" Gokudera snorted in a deriding tone.

"All the same, you are his son, and that won't change a thing."

The boy's face fell as he casted his gaze downwards. Fon, in all courtesy, closed his eyes and kept quiet so he wouldn't provoke him in anyway that could. Tsuna, perplexed, followed the quietness. She could imagine the contorting of expressions on Gokudera's face, and she recalled what he had told her that one day on the rooftop.

'Gokudera doesn't like his family, I think,' Tsuna thought. 'Especially his father. Something about…the man being arrogant and…a workaholic…?' She was drawing a blank on evoking a memory. Well, it was something about Gokudera not liking his dad because of something of his mom…Ugh, Tsuna had terrible memory.

Just then, said boy lifted his chin and sighed. Fon's eyes flew open as he patiently waited.

"Yeah, I'll do it."

So with that said, Gokudera told them his name that his paternal relatives had given him.

Gokudera Hayato's other name was Gavino Ignazio Sustantivo.

* * *

Reborn was the last one to visit.

"By the way, I met this kid from your school. Hibari Kyoya."

Tsuna froze.

"You…did?"

"I did."

"Why? Or, erm, when?"

"He stopped by at your place to drop off your book-bag."

"That was…"

"The day when you were sent to the hospital."

"Right."

'WHY? Why, oh, WHY would Hibari do such a thing?' They were acquaintances, sure, and she still had her intestines intact despite the many tardies she had pulled. And he devours her lunch, like, all the time…But still, why would he bother dropping off her bag? And did he know that she was in the hospital all this time? Hopefully he does, because by the time she returns to school, her blood would be splattered on the walls this time if he wasn't informed earlier. Screw with not hurting girls.

Reborn paced in the room before planting his feet before the window. He had that _smirk_ on his face. That certain smirk that was asking for trouble. And trouble came.

"And I need you to recruit Hibari."

"…What?"

"Recruit Hibari."

There was an acerbity taste in her mouth.

"…You…you want me to do _what_?"

Reborn sighed, as if patronizing her in a way. "According from what Yamamoto had told me—or is it Takeshi now?—he told you about how my bandmates would choose their protégé."

"Yeah! And—and _you_ want _Hibari_ to be the _singer_?"

"Now, when did I ever say that it was me?"

"_You're the singer_!" she sputtered indignantly.

"Only the backup."

"…Excuse me?"

"True, I was the singer of Arcobaleno, but my main position was the drums. Skull is prone to getting sore throats from time to time, so he would just do secondary guitar when he's not up to it."

"The official singer was Skull…?"

"Yes."

"And…And he chose Hibari…?"

"Yes."

"…When can I meet this Skull person?"

Reborn smirked, thoroughly amused.

"Sometime later, I would assume."

Tsuna sighed raggedly. Hell was gonna pay.

"Dame-Tsuna, one more thing."

"What now?"

If it was possible for Reborn's dark eyes to get even more sinister, _anything_ was possible.

* * *

**AN 1:** Chapter 11, in case some of you had forgotten about one tidbit.

What's more, Yamamoto never told her why he reconsidered his decision about the band recruitment. When she asked, he waved off the question and walked out of the room, leaving her shocked. Gokudera and Lambo never came back either. Reborn did, however, and dumped all her homework on her lap. _He then told her that he lied to her mother about how she was on a school field trip and all the necessities were packed for each student. _Tsuna was amazed how gullible her mother was, or was it how convincing her tutor was?

(So Nana believed Reborn and that she doesn't know that Tsuna was injured in the first place).

**AN 2: **While searching for an Italian name for Gokudera, I found that Dino's name means "little sword". Ain't that cute? Also, I picked Gavino because it means "white hawk", whereas Hayato means "falconer". His middle name, Ignazio, means "fiery", which suits Gokudera's personality fine.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** same old, same old.

* * *

"You are to recruit Rokudo Mukuro."

"Roku Muku—what?"

"Rokudo Mukuro," he enunciated slowly. "He's a foreigner who's attending at Kokuyo Middle School. For some reason, he adopted a Japanese-characterized name."

"Let me guess: He's Italian?"

"How'd you ever figure that one out?"

She frowned. "What's with Italians colonizing in Japan?"

"You'd think that it'd be the Brits doing that."

"What?"

"Never mind."

Tsuna gave a long-suffering sigh. "But Reborn," she cried, "I already have Sasagawa to deal with, and then you bombarded me with _Hibari_, and now this Rokudo guy?"

The Italian smacked her with a rolled-up magazine. "No complaining, Dame-Tsuna," he said sternly.

"But _Reborn_—"

Leon shot his sticky tongue at her forehead, eliciting a shriek of, "HIII!"

* * *

Today was the day when Tsuna would finally be released out of the hospital. Reborn would tell her mother that she had returned from camp, so of course Nana would go to the extent of preparing a large feast. Tsuna suspected that Lambo would be eager to help make dinner, that or be napping. Reborn didn't stay at home often, but there might be a chance that he would stay to eat together with the family.

She smiled. Her family was somehow growing, thanks to Lambo's presence. That officially covered her father's usual absence, not that she cared about that geezer anyway.

The receptionist returned with a clipboard and a pen. After signing her name, Tsuna returned it back to the woman, who tucked it in her armpit

"Well, Sawada-san, you are officially all better and ready to go."

"Th-thank you for everything," Tsuna said, bowing graciously.

"Not a problem," replied the receptionist, and then she frowned. "Though we do wish that you would not catch yourself in the same situation again. It was serious, your injuries."

"Ah, y-yes, of course."

All she had was a leg in a cast, using crutches as her support. Tsuna was a little worried about her ribs, however, which meant how to breathe; would she breathe in too forcibly to be able to fracture a bone? At least she knew better to be more careful next time, even if it meant breaking someone's fall. They were the ones falling in the first place, anyway.

"Um, would it be alright if I could see my roommates again?" Tsuna requested.

"Of course."

And so Tsuna led herself through the hallways and to the room. When she opened the door, she was surprised to only see Hana.

"Hey, Tsuna," Hana said, putting down her magazine.

"Hey," she returned. "Where's Kyoko?"

"She said she wanted some air." She glanced up and down at Tsuna's form. "You're gonna leave, eh?"

"Y-yeah," Tsuna responded, smiling sheepishly.

"So, you excited or what?"

"Or what," Tsuna answered, forcing a smile at the lame joke she made. "Though it's kind of nice to finally get outside, use my legs and breathe without pain."

"Oh, that's good."

"Yeah, I guess it is."

Silence.

"I-I've been wondering…"

"Yeah?"

"I, um, well, if it isn't rude of me to ask…"

Hana rolled her eyes. "Just spit it out, Tsuna."

"Erk, okay." Tsuna licked her lips before asking, "When are you going to leave?"

"The hospital?"

She nodded. "For what I know, you've been here for awhile."

"…I have, haven't I?" Hana sighed and stared blankly at the window.

Tsuna fidgeted. "I'm sorry if I said anything rude."

"Just go."

"Eh?"

"Just go, just get out of here." Her tone adopted a snarling one. "I need to be alone."

Her eyes widened and she backpedaled involuntarily. "R-right, I'll be going then," she said, nodding warily. "G-goodbye, Hana."

Hana just grunted, still not looking at her. Tsuna suppressed a sigh of her own as she hobbled out of the room, closing the door behind her.

'Just what did I do?' Tsuna fisted a bunch of her hair. 'Great, good job, Tsuna, you managed to repel another friend-to-be. I am definitely not suited to make friends. Never.'

* * *

"Tsuna-chan, remember when Hana-chan said that when we get better, we would go shopping and eating together?"

"Yes."

"That was a lie."

"E-eh?"

"Hana-chan…Hana-chan tries to be optimistic, she really do, but I know that somewhere deep inside, she doesn't believe that she'll ever get out to see the world."

"Why is that?"

Kyoko gave her an apologetic smile. "It's not really my place to tell you that. I'm sorry, Tsuna-chan."

"No, th-that's alright…"

'So much for finding a friend…'

* * *

Tsuna's mother stopped fretting about her "accident at camp" until the cast came off. Her walking was still a little off, but as time passed by her leg strengthened. Tsuna was glad as well—those crutches were rather difficult to come by.

School was boring as usual. And it was as if no one had noticed her absence, except for a few teachers and students. Yamamoto, much to her surprise, bounced towards her on the first day and enveloped her in a tight hug. She didn't hear Gokudera's angry protests and the fangirls' rapid murmurs over her heart pounding furiously in her ears.

Yamamoto—erm, _Takeshi_ was becoming a bit…different lately.

But he wasn't the only one who changed. As Takeshi became a little clingier (in the cutest way possible), Hibari began avoiding her (or at least it seemed that way).

Not that she would complain about, but it kind of threw her off her schedule. Ever since midway of her first year, she had become adjusted to Hibari's appearances popping out of every corner. They were unsystematic, yes, and scared her at times too. But having him stopping his most random presence and conversations was like…was like Reborn suddenly moving back to Italy. In a way, Hibari was a big part of her school life.

And the downfall just had to dig itself even deeper: Tsuna had to recruit Hibari and she had no idea where the hell he was. It was as if the guy vanished! And yet she would catch him only at the busiest times. It was rather unfair how the universe was playing against her. As always.

A few days had passed and she was yet to recruit a single person. She was still trying to find some information about this Rokudo guy (with Gokudera's help, of course) and visit Sasagawa. It turned out that her sempai was a rather pleasant person to be around with. He didn't make you feel uncomfortable because he managed to make himself a fool, and at times you couldn't help but laugh along with him. But, as always, Tsuna never did stay long.

Usually, she spent most of her time lingering in the hallways, in hopes that the prefect would arrive to apprehend her, and thus her chance to ask him. Normally, she would have been frightened to attempt such a crazy stunt, because knowing Hibari, he detested crowding (even if it was one person), but she had to try. She was getting desperate.

And so, lo and behold, Tsuna lingering in the hallways, waiting for the prefect's arrival. Hopefully, he won't bruise her face too much.

"Sawada."

Hibari was standing there.

No herbivore. Just Sawada.

Hibari regarded her for a moment, and then left. Without. A. Word.

Tsuna felt faint.

* * *

'This is terrible,' Tsuna groaned inwardly.

She pushed herself from the ground, moving the swing. Children were jumping off the play structure to depart with their mothers, as the sky was altering into hues of pink and orange from the bright day's blue. Tsuna figured that she should've gone home an hour ago, but then she decided to mope a little more when an image of Hibari's face (cold, deadly, frightening face) popped up in her mind.

"Ugh!" She jumped off the swing and stomped on the ground furiously, allowing her contained frustrations to break free from their bonds. Though she could do nothing about the decisions that Reborn had made for her (because the man can be quite persistent), she could release her anger in private. It wasn't necessary for her to make a tantrum for others to see, or in a way that she would hinder them of their performances. They had reached this far, after all.

However, it felt as though the world was up against her—or rather, Reborn was producing the maddening impossibilities. 'I cannot believe the nerve of that man!' Tsuna kicked a pebble, sending it soaring far. 'I mean, this Skull person. But anyway, it still is kind of Reborn's fault. And knowing him, refusal is not an option.'

She really didn't want to recruit _Hibari_ of all people.

Who would want him in their band anyway? Skull must've been a sadistic man, the bastard.

Tsuna drained all the soda out of the can in one gulp and swiped a drop from her chin. She huffed irately and crossed her arms. 'This is SO unfair! And now I have to try to recruit this random _Italian_ who just so happens to be imposing as a Japanese kid. And it's not like he's going to do so well with a stupid name like Mukuro. What kind of name is Rokudo Mukuro anyway?'

She dropped her empty soda can and kicked it, directing it to the trashcan—or at least she attempted to. It actually bounced off a beefy neck of a tall thug who was surrounded by his equally ugly cronies. In one whip of the head turning, the thug scanned his glare across the playground. "Who the hell was that?"

All hot anger flooded out of Tsuna's body, now replaced with cold fear.

"Hiii!" she squeaked when eyes were pinned on her. Tsuna reacted fast: She whizzed past the swings and hopped over a bush, but the gang was surprisingly swift on their feet. One man grabbed her by the collar and threw her to the ground. She moaned in pain.

"Well, well, well, what do we got here?" The thug who Tsuna had hit sneered down at her, making some strange noise in his throat—like a cross between a dying cat and a birthing moose. She would assume that the fella was laughing. "A lil' girly!"

"A plain-lookin' one at that," snorted one of his friends.

"There ain't fun in playing with a kid, anyway."

'Thank God,' Tsuna thought with heavy relief. They way he said "playing" didn't really give her any ideas of good ole fashioned fun with a soccer ball or a baseball.

One man with a cigarette—Tsuna was therefore inspired to break Gokudera of his smoking habit—and a yellow _horrid_ teeth called out languidly, "We could make her fetch us some booze."

'Oh no.'

"Yeah, that'll be a great idea." The thug hauled her up by grabbing her arm. "Get us some booze, bitch, and make it snappy."

If this happened to Tsuna a year ago, she would've wet her skirt.

Instead, she swallowed thickly and landed her eyes somewhere where she wouldn't have to look at them. She was staring at a crumpled-looking dandelion that sprouted out of a crack of the sidewalk, taking in great interest at the color and the crumbliness.

A fistful of her hair jerked her attention to the thug compellingly. "Oi, look at me when I'm talking to you!"

"I don't have money," she blurted out, her hands flying over to the roots of her hair. 'Ow, ow, ow, ow.'

"Then go fucking get some, twerp!" He then threw her back to the ground, where bruises bloomed on her already scabbed knees and elbows.

'Great. What a way to add to the collection,' she thought with a cynical smile.

Before anything else would have happened, a peculiar laugh—yet familiar in a way—was heard.

"Ushesheshe."

Standing before them were two figures. A tall, broad-shouldered man with dark skin, pink scars imprinted on his bald head and face, and a gray moustache. A boy with yellow shaggy hair that hung over his eyes; his clothes were odd, elaborate in a way, and there was a tiara on his head. Tsuna's eyes zeroed in on the tiara, and she gasped softly.

'Fashionista boy?'

"Cosa succede?" the boy chimed in a foreign language, a sharp grin spreading across his face.

'Eh?' What the heck was that? 'Just then…his voice sounded different…like, deeper in a way.'

And he seemed different too.

'But the tiara…'

"Who the—? What the hell do ya want?" demanded one of the cronies.

"Ushesheshe," came the snicker.

'The laugh seems different too, if I recall from the future travelling. Is he not Bel?'

"Sir," the big guy, standing next to the boy, said gruffly, "what do you wish for me to do?"

"Beating them up would amuse me long enough," the boy trilled.

"As you wish."

"Now wait a sec—SHIT!"

It came all too fast. Tsuna was pulled out of the tumble by someone—it was the boy, whoever he was. She took a second to throw a glance over her shoulder, and she was horrified of the bloody punches and kicks that were sent flying everywhere. It lasted only for a minute—a single, measly minute—and the man stood in the midst of heaps of beaten up bodies, dusting away his suit and completely remaining uninjured.

She blinked once. She blinked twice. She blinked three times, and yet it was still all there. She was so stunned that it took her a moment for her mind to wrap around the fact that the boy had suddenly slammed her against a pole. Her mouth only opened to launch a soft, "Ow…"

The boy chuckled. "Now then," he said, his hot breath washing over her face, "you are going to listen to me without any interruptions. Are we clear?"

"But…" She winced when she felt nails dig into her shoulder. "Who are you!" Tsuna sputtered quickly.

"Rasiel," he answered, abruptly sounding bored. "My butler had rescued you from an unfortunate fate, so you are hereby in debt to me."

"Wha—" She stifled a yelp when he placed pressure on her arm.

"Olgert is my loyal servant for life. He serves no one but me, and everything he owns is mine. Therefore, you are in debt. To. Me."

She didn't say anything. She could only stare bewilderedly.

"Ushesheshe," he laughed lightly, the grin returning. She didn't like that grin; it looked maniacal, evil. He approved of her silence by petting her. "Good girl. And since this day gets better and better, and I somehow stumbled upon Reborn's student—" her eyes went wide at this "—and got her to be in debt to me, I'll go easy on ya since I'm in an excellent mood."

Tsuna had a feeling that he was just kidding.

She wanted to groan aloud. How did she get stuck in a situation like this? She was just minding her own business, sulking and moping and whining, and then a few minutes later, she find herself to be pinned by this—this—this fashionista boy lookalike! Why does he even resemble Bel anyway? Were they brothers?

A peacefully smiling Fon and a blood-bathed Hibari popped in her head.

Never mind then.

'I blame Reborn.' Of course this was Reborn's fault. Everything was Reborn's fault, and the man, strangely enough, took that as a great accomplishment. This guy, Rasiel, mentioned Reborn, thus proof! It was just like that time with the loony lady condoning the law as she set out for Tsuna's blood for "stealing" Reborn away from her. One of Reborn's insane ex-girlfriends.

Then again, if it weren't for them (because, most likely, the big fella wouldn't budge a muscle in stepping out to help her if it weren't for Rasiel), then Tsuna would come home late looking battered…or possibly drunk herself—who knows? And she preferred none of that happening to her. From now on, no more can-kicking.

Rasiel, with one hand still firmly planted on her shoulder, made a grand sweeping gesture with his free hand. "As you can see, judging from my crown—" that was a crown? "—I am descended from royalty."

Tsuna didn't bother hiding an arched brow.

"And because I am a prince—" she actually yelped this time when he dug his nails deeper into her skin "—I demand utmost respect from you, peasant. There will be no tolerance for any insolent behavior, otherwise there will be retribution. Savvy?"

She nodded dutifully (reluctantly).

With that done, he seemed to relax and satisfied. Tsuna couldn't really tell since he had his eyes covered, her hunch just told her so. "I am on a hunt, peasant, and you _will_ be assisting me, regardless of what useless project you're involved in."

Okay…_How_ did he know that she _was_ involved in a useless project? Or was that rhetorical? ...And what's with him calling her "peasant"?

"You have met my brother, Bel, correct?"

Her mouth dropped. "You—you're his brother?"

"His older twin."

"But, then, how—"

"Do not speak unless you are called to do, peasant."

Her lips clamped shut.

He nodded. "Good peasant," Rasiel endorsed. "You are learning. As I was saying, since you have met my younger twin, I alert you that he is residing somewhere here in Namimori. I am searching for the fool to take him back to the kingdom before he falls into whatever ridiculous scheme he's contriving."

Tsuna wasn't sure how to speak without out of turn, so, like how they do it in school, she raised her hand in a meek fashion. Rasiel, after all, kind of unnerved her, and it was hard trying to pull bravado.

She imagined him rolling his eyes at her action. "Yes? What is it?" he drawled impatiently.

"A-ano…Why?"

"Why what?"

She squirmed uncomfortably. "W-why do you have to find him?"

"I was getting to that," he snapped impatiently.

Tsuna recoiled. _Sheesh_, this guy was going from creepily cheery to regally presumptuous to easily irritable. Was he bipolar or what?

"Bel has a duty as a prince, but out of jealousy of not being the crowned prince, he had run away from his country to seek refuge here in Japan, especially after learning the rare information of the infamous Reborn being here. He's doing something that is deemed as an act of contumacy."

"Which is…?" she mouthed, not said.

Rasiel didn't seem to notice as he continued without pause. "He believes that he can become a rock star. Absolutely ridiculous." He shook his head. "Furthermore, with his neglecting to his duty and abandonment, he had automatically resigned his role and is as good as exiled. Father sent me to fetch the idiot so that he wouldn't put himself in any other stupid occurrences. His anger has led him to a life of bitterness, and his envy for my glorious position puts him on the spot of disgrace.

"Yet I cannot blame him for feeling that way. One cannot help of who was born first and who was born second. As it was obvious, fate had made it so that I was to be born first, therefore the king's heir, but it was unfortunate that Bel, my dear foolish brother, could not see that." Rasiel sighed. "Oh well."

'Oh, c'mon.'

She looked down to frown. In a nutshell, there was something terribly off about Rasiel's explanation regarding to his brother's escapade. As far as introductions go, Bel didn't come off to her as a bitter and envy-ridden boy, but more like a merry yet sinister fashionista boy, even ten years into the future.

The idea of why his brother had run away must've gotten into his head (his big, egotistical head that was in danger of swelling from all that boasting).

Okay, other than that, Tsuna had a feeling that Bel's decision was leaning more towards to succeeding as a rockstar than just out of jealousy. Perhaps Bel truly wanted to be part of a band? That was much more reasonable than Rasiel's blind explanation, it being riddled heavily with his bragging.

"Continuing on," Rasiel said. "You are to assist me in searching for Bel. You are to come here everyday in the evening."

She gawked. "Everyday?"

"That's what I said, peasant. Everyday here."

'I have a LIFE, you know?' She pressed her lips into a thin line. Tsuna raised her hand again. When she was permitted, she asked hesitantly, "If I don't help you?"

"Ragazza balordo," he sighed, shaking her head. Tsuna wondered if he was mocking her—it sure as hell looked like it. "Olgert," he called, snapping his fingers.

"Yes, your highness."

"Bring me the briefcase."

"Yes, your highness."

Olgert came back carrying a black briefcase, and cradled it in his thickset arms. He lifted the latch and opened it, revealing a stack of paper. Rasiel took the papers and read off of them. "Sawada Tsunayoshi. Age: fourteen. Intelligence: average. Physical endurance: low." He shuffled through other papers, not noticing Tsuna's flinches. "Gender: female. Occupation: Namimori Middle student. Family: Sawada Iemitsu and Nana. Blood type: A. Height: 155 centimeters. Weight—"

"H-how do you know all that?" Tsuna blurted.

"I have no resources." He shrugged indifferently. "Shall I continue?"

She shook her head vigorously.

"Very well. I have much more information that is necessary for you to cooperate with me, so I suggest you do it."

'To use to humiliate me with? Been there, done that.' But this guy wasn't Reborn. "What?"

"There will be consequences."

"Consequences?" she repeated weakly, shoulders stiffening.

"Yes, consequences. I had my servants implant bombs in one of your friend's home. If you refuse to cooperate, I will have the bombs explode."

Tsuna paled visibly at the thought of Takeshi's mansion flying in the air in bits, along with Takeshi and his father's remains…

"You're lying," she accused, her voice wavering.

"I am not."

"But _how_?"

"Foolish peasant, don't you know?" he scoffed, directing his nose up high. "I am a prince! I won't be held back to finish my goal."

She weighed the possibilities. What were the chances of a foreigner, imposing as a prince whether it was true or not, having a threat used against her and it to be real? Though she didn't like the sound of it, all she had to do was search for his brother. How hard can it be? "Okay…B-but if so, why me?"

"You are connected to Reborn and had met Bel. That is enough for me."

"But why is Reborn significant in this?"

"Didn't you hear what I just said, peasant?" Rasiel growled exasperatedly.

Tsuna fidgeted, looking away. "U-um, that your b-brother ran away to Japan…"

"And _why_ is he in Japan?"

"To be a rock star…?"

"And _what_ exactly prompted his decision?"

It took her a moment to figure that one out. "Oh! Because of Reborn!" she exclaimed, landing her fist into her palm.

"Ushesheshe. It took you awhile," Rasiel laughed, grinning broadly.

If she could, she would turn around to face the tree. Really, this whole bipolarness was creeping her out.

"So because of me…I might be able to get to Bel if he ever confronts Reborn?"

"Yes. Your choice?"

"Yeah, I said yes."

"Ushesheshe. I knew you would see it my way, peasant."

'Maybe the reason why Bel left was because his brother was a creeper. But then again, Bel himself was a bit like a creeper too.' Well, after this was done, Tsuna could always run back to Reborn and tell him.

"And you are forbidden to make this known to anybody," Rasiel said. He held up a device. "I would know if you had lied or not."

'UGH. DANGIT.'

The self-imposed prince announced that he would be departing. Olgert snapped the briefcase and made a curt bow, thanking the girl for consenting. Finally, they were out of sight. Tsuna released a sigh and slid against the tree, landing on the ground.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed. She fished it out and was shocked to see that Rasiel's name and number appeared on the screen. 'How the heck did he do it?' Did he steal it when she wasn't looking?

"He-hello?" she answered.

"One more thing," came Rasiel's voice. "Whatever you do, do not let Bel join your band."

* * *

Tsuna sighed.

"Ne, ne, Tsuna, ne," Lambo pestered, poking her hard in the ribs. "Ne, ne, ne, ne."

Her eyebrow twitched. "_What_, Lambo? _What_ is it?"

"I'm booored!" he wailed.

"Then go bug Reborn like how you usually do," she growled, pulling the covers over her head.

"But he's gooone! And I'm booored!" Lambo climbed on her bed and began jumping up and down. "PLAY WITH ME!"

"UGH! LAMBO!"

"PLAY WITH ME!"

"FINE!"

Immediately, the little boy leaped onto the floor and ran around in circles. "To the park! To the park!"

Tsuna ran her fingers through her hair. "My stay in the hospital had made me forget that you can be such a handful sometimes, you brat."

"Lambo-sama also requires grape candy!"

'It's finally the weekend, I'm still nursing that headache I've gotten from yesterday's meeting with prince-what's-his-face, and I'm exhausted. Plus I have an essay to finish by Monday. And all it takes to ruin my special evening is by a little runt.' Tsuna grumbled as she threw the covers off her body and slid off the bed. 'Do I ever get a break?'

After throwing on shorts, a sweater, and a cap, Tsuna then slipped on her shoes and called out behind her shoulder, "Going to take Lambo to the park!" She then heard a faint, "Have fun!" trailing behind her.

"C'mon, then, Lambo." She offered him a hand, in which he gladly accepted.

On their way to the park, Tsuna just remembered her supposed meeting with Rasiel at the playground, which was _nearby_ the park. And to add to that, she had _forgotten_ about her _meeting_ with _Rasiel_. She hung her head, a dark cloud drifting above her head in sign of mourning.

"Ugh, maybe the park wasn't such a good idea."

Suddenly, her hand was jerked in one direction, forcing her feet to shuffle that way. Tsuna looked down at Lambo, who was determinedly tugging her to the sandbox, and that was when she spotted something.

A small boy, perhaps around ten-years-old, was weeping, his hands in the sand. What struck Tsuna the most was the long scarf that was wrapped around his neck and foreign features.

'Probably another Italian,' Tsuna thought dryly.

"Tsuna, look!" Lambo said, pointing at the child. "I think he's lost!" He released his hold of her hand and bolted towards the sandbox, ignoring Tsuna's call. Aware of someone, the boy looked up, his flushed face visible, and stared at Lambo who was examining him in turn like a bug in a box.

And then Lambo spoke.

"Ti sei perso?"

Tsuna reeled back in surprise. That was the first time she heard Lambo use a foreign language, and it sounded odd how the words came out of his lips, but then Tsuna had taken the time to become adjusted to the Italian child adopting the Oriental speech.

When the other boy responded, almost warily, it came out different. The language…Tsuna couldn't really put her finger on it since all Western speech basically sounded the same to her ears. However, being surrounded by Italians did do her justice by accumulating recognition of the language, and what came out of the boy's mouth was not Italian.

"Y-yo no entiendo…"

Lambo paused, and then replied, "Es tu espanol? Desde Espana?"

Both Tsuna and the boy looked at him with wide eyes, and then the boy nodded and replied back a bit more enthusiastically, his expression brightening. "Sí! Sí, soy español! Podría decirme dónde estoy?"

"Japόn."

With that said (whatever Lambo did say), the boy's expression fell.

"Uh, were you speaking to him in Italian?" she asked to be sure, walking up to the children.

Lambo gave her a puzzled look. "No, it's Spanish. He is from Spain."

She glanced back at the boy, who was still mourning over whatever, and back to Lambo. "So what did you tell him?"

"He asked me where he was, and I told him Japan."

"...Looks like he's not taking it so well."

"I'll ask him why." Lambo faced the boy and said, "Por que estas triste?"

Soon after that, the two were wrapped up in their Spanish conversation. Tsuna was mildly fascinated by the exchange of words by two children. Foreign language always appeared to be something dull, at least to her. She had to study English, after all, and all that work was so tedious to accomplish. However, looking at the boys, she couldn't help but envision them to be two small adults on a business trip.

Lambo was also oddly compliant. If she didn't know better, she would've seen him as a kind-hearted boy deep inside. Maybe he thought that he could get candy after lending a hand to someone (that one she strongly suspected). Maybe he was eager to converse with a fellow foreigner, noting how Reborn and Gokudera were both nasty to him.

Lambo tugged on Tsuna's pants, gaining her attention. "Tsuna, Tsuna."

"Yeah?"

"He said that he's from Spain and that he ran away from home just like I did!"

She looked at him blankly. "Okay…"

"And that he forgot to bring money to find a place to stay! Bwuahaha! The moron."

Tsuna stifled the very, very strong urge to note that he was in the similar predicament before he took refuge in her home.

"And then?" she prompted.

"And then he said that he took the wrong plane because he wasn't supposed to go to Japan but Vietnam," he finished, picking his nose.

"Don't do that." She pulled his hand away. "Alright, well, I'm guessing that he doesn't know Japanese?"

"Nope."

"Great," she sighed. "I suppose that means that we'll just have to take him to the police."

"No, nooo." He pulled at her sleeve. "No, don't."

Her brows furrowed. "Why?"

"Fuuta's not a criminal!"

"Fuuta?"

"Fuuta." Lambo pointed rigidly at the boy. "Fuuta."

"…Fuuta."

Fuuta gave a shy wave. "H-hola."

"Lambo, I'm not turning Fuuta in as a criminal," Tsuna said, rolling her eyes. "He's a lost child, so therefore it would be logical to bring him to the police so that they may take care of him."

"Lo-lo—whaaa?"

"We. Are. Taking. Him. To. The. Police."

"But Fuuta is NOT a criminal!" Lambo insisted, stomping his foot.

"…" She pinched the bridge of her nose. "…"

"And besides! Lambo-san told him he could have dinner with us!"

All interests of the boys' foreign conversation were thereby erased. It was not an intriguing dialogue shared by two common European kids; it was a sly exchange of secrets and whatnots between two evil little monsters, doing it in order to make her life slightly more frustrating. As if she had dealt with enough.

Tsuna's eyebrow twitched as she gave the afro kid a deadpan look. "And then what did you tell him?"

"I told him that he could stay with us!" he chirped.

Tsuna let her mouth drop before recovering. "_Lambo_! What on earth possessed you to tell him that?"

He blinked owlishly. "But…isn't it okay…?"

"No, no it is not okay! I mean, Fuuta's a kid like you, so I guess it's somewhat okay—but that's not the point! The point is that you don't invite strangers into our home."

"But Mama does it all the time!" he wailed, pouting.

"That's because she's an adult. A GROWN-UP. She's about THIRTY, you are FIVE. There is a BIG difference in AGE, Lambo!"

"So?" came the demand.

"So that means that you are NOT ALLOWED to give invites without MY or MAMA'S PERMISSION," Tsuna stressed, frowning pronouncedly. "Do you _understand_?"

"But Lambo-sama is an adult too!" he argued.

"…"

"…"

"No, Lambo. Just no."

Lambo stuck out his lip and jumped up and down. He whined, pulled at her hair, and rolled on the ground, but having the squirt living with you for awhile gave you the power of tolerance…sort of. Anyway, his tantrum plan wasn't going to work, and luckily, there was hardly anybody here at the park. Good grief.

"Are you done?" she asked.

Lambo glared at her childishly before turning to the boy. "La pendeja dice no."

She had a distinct feeling that Lambo insulted her.

The boy looked up at her with large beseeching eyes. "Por favor, senorita? Por favor invite yo?"

She had no idea what he had said, but she had the gist of it. Plus, the puppy eyes trick was a bonus.

'No, no, NO, Tsuna! Do not succumb to the cuteness. DO NOT SUCCUMB!'

"_Oh_!" Tsuna slapped a hand to her forehead. "Alright, _alright_! But I'll have to ask Mom about it, okay?"

"Yay! Mama!" Lambo cheered.

On their way back home after playing (Fuuta, the Spanish boy, had his fun chasing around Lambo while lugging around his really, really big book), Tsuna was holding hands of both boys. Lambo wasn't hesitant on grabbing onto her fingers with his dirty hands (Tsuna tried not to think where the dirt came from) as Fuuta was shy about it and blushed the entire way back.

She looked down at Lambo and asked, "How many languages do you know, Lambo?"

He scrunched up his face in serious thought. "Hmm." He held up his fingers, wiggling them. "One, two…Lambo-san knows four!" he said proudly, sticking out his chest.

Tsuna, genuinely impressed, made noise of astonishment. "Japanese, Italian, Spanish, and what else?"

"English, duh!"

"Right, right. Can you ask Fuuta how many languages does he know?"

"Feh, how about _you_ ask him?" he sneered defiantly.

"I don't know how to speak Spanish, Lambo."

"Heheh! Dame-Tsuna is really dumb!"

"So are you gonna ask him or not?"

"Weeell, since you really wanna know, I'll ask him." After talking to Fuuta, Lambo told her, "Six."

"Six? And he's, what, ten?"

"Yeah, I think he told me that before," he said.

'Jeez, kids nowadays are really smart.' She glanced at the giant book that was tucked in Fuuta's arm. 'And bookish.'


	14. Chapter 14

Nana was enthused at the idea of letting little Fuuta stay over. Of course.

"It'll be like having another baby brother, Tsu-chan!" the woman chirped.

"Yay," Tsuna replied, forcing a smile upon her face. The smile hurt.

After watching her mother's retreating form into the kitchen, Tsuna looked down at Fuuta who was very absorbed with his giant book. She wondered how a small guy could carry around such a heavy-looking thing. Perhaps it wasn't that heavy at all.

"Ne, Lambo," she said to the afro child, "what's Fuuta reading?"

"A book," he said in a way as though he was teaching to a moron. The annoying brat.

Tsuna rolled her eyes. "I know that it's a book! I just want to know what kind of book it is. He's been reading it all this time."

"I don't care," he huffed, turning his back to her.

"…Something wrong?"

"You didn't get me grape candy!" Lambo elicit a shrilling scream, stomping his foot agitatedly.

Tsuna was not a vindictive person by nature, but there were times where she was highly tempted to throw the kid out the window, just like the many times Reborn had done before. Speaking of which, how long was it when Reborn promised to do some research and contact with Lambo's family? Why was the kid still here?

It wasn't that she disliked him being here, but she was a little concerned. Knowing that Lambo's family was a very rich and run a powerful sort of unit (noting the many types of machinery magically produced from Lambo's bundles of hair), possibilities of retrieving the young boy back ran through her mind. What if the father sued them for kidnapping? What if they were going to be targeted by highly trained assassins? What if they launch a nuclear missile in Japan just like how the Americans did it in World War II?

It better not happen.

Tsuna pinched the bridge of her nose before trudging upstairs, ignoring Lambo's ceaseless whining. After all the little run-in with the Spanish child, she had already obtained a headache. Not that Fuuta was annoying or anything (quite the opposite, really), but these…occurrences were just too…peculiar.

Peculiar, as in, was she meant to coincidentally meet Rasiel? Have Yamamoto Takeshi hanging onto her? Hear Gokudera's footsteps fall short after hers everywhere she went? Not to mention the appearances of two little boys that entered her life. What's more…Hibari was behaving oddly. Tsuna was rather perplexed on that one.

'I need to nap…again.' A sigh passed from her lips. Tsuna flopped onto her bed, her eyelids pounding from dryness. When they reopened heavily, her eyes were met with a hazy golden glare.

"…"

"…"

She sucked in a deep breath. "HIII!" Tsuna sat up quickly, her legs flailing. The person gracefully jumped off the bed before getting hit and swiveled towards her. He glared at her.

"You weren't there."

"…R-Rasiel?" she choked out.

"You weren't there," he repeated. The boy made his way towards her and fisted her collar. "_Why_ weren't you there?"

Tsuna nearly prattled (with spit flying) if she hadn't composed herself. She released a quick sigh and clenched her fists, trying to ignore how Rasiel's hand was still grabbing onto her shirt. 'This certainly is not a way to treat a girl,' she thought glumly.

"I was at the park," Tsuna said, feeling uncomfortable, "but I didn't see you there."

"Then you should have _searched_ for me. Obviously."

The headache returned with its buddy, the migraine. Her hand flew to massage her temple. "Can we—C-can we talk about this later?" she whimpered. "Please?"

He let her go and folded his arms. "Very well, then. I suppose that I may excuse your lack of focus. However, happen again and I shall not be merciful. And you know what will happen when I'm not merciful," he warned, eyes glinting.

Tsuna swallowed and nodded. 'Can't believe I have to meet up with this guy everyday just to keep Takeshi's home from being blown up.' All for a good cause.

'Maybe I should tell Reborn,' she pondered. 'No, that won't do. Rasiel said that he would know…And I wouldn't want to push my luck with him. Gyaah…What am I going to do?'

This was not the kind of evening she wanted to have. And tomorrow she had to go to school…So much for a pleasant weekend. It had been nothing but headaches and anxiety and whining…Tsuna wasn't sure how much more she was going to take, and she was just recently released from the hospital! She'd think that a released patient would experience nothing more than a calming week with snacks and tea and few homework assignments…

It's been hell!

Well, not literally, but the gist of it was…

The poor girl stopped to hang her head in mourning, and that was when she realized she had her unexpected guest waiting. Turning around, she found Rasiel flipping through the pages of her diary that she had last written when she was a fifth grader.

"D-don't read that!" she screamed, her face going red. Automatically, she lunged forward for the diary, but Rasiel lifted the book over his head, way out of Tsuna's reach.

"Are you ordering me, peasant?" he said coldly.

'Meep.' She paled and withdrew her hand, afraid, but managed to quickly shake her head. "No, no. That's not what I meant to do! B-b-but…" she trailed off, unable to think of an excuse. Her first thought was that he was being rather unprincely, and that's when she took her advantage. "But you know, it's rude to read someone's belonging without their permission!"

"Ushesheshe. But I am a prince! I do whatever I please."

"But princes don't do discourteous things," she insisted. "A-and you're not doing what a prince should d-do!"

Rasiel went from deadly to prideful to amused. Sheesh, she couldn't keep up with his fluctuating emotions. "And what would a peasant like you know anything about princes?" he sneered.

Nervous sweat trickled at the back of her neck. "It's…" She strained to think of something. "It's c-common sense, after all…"

"Oh?"

"Y-yeah, that's right!" Tsuna said, gaining confidence. "Princes would never do something like read girls' diaries! In fact, they would never be rude to girls!"

When he leaned very close to her face, Tsuna remembered how much power he held. With a snap of his fingers, he could make that huge butler of his come and ground her bones into bread. Or worse, blow up Takeshi's mansion…with him and his father in it, most likely.

'And is he even an actual prince?' Maybe he was deluding himself because he came from a high-esteemed family and his butler was just playing along so he wouldn't get fired? It suited well: The delusional rich boy proclaiming himself to be a prince. She would have felt sorry for Rasiel if he hadn't proved himself to be so much of a jerk.

'Bel must've been in this delusion as well…Poor him.'

So, back to Tsuna being under the hidden stare of the prince-impersonator. It felt as though hours, days, months, years had gone by and yet he would not budge from where he was standing. He just kept looking at her…His bangs were parted slightly, his eyes glowing through the gaps like gold being seen through a partially opened treasure box. She couldn't see them very well, but they were quite alluring…Seductive, even.

Finally, he reeled back. Tsuna nearly made aloud of her relieved sigh and was satisfied until she took a couple steps away from the boy. Personal space was all she needed…and away from the definite psychotic, bipolar, princely obsessed boy.

Who had pretty eyes.

'WHAT THE HECK.'

There was a rumbling sound in his throat, which Tsuna later discovered as suppressed laughter. "Ushesheshe!" he released, hand on chest. "You humor me, girl. As if you don't know already, but royalty shall never waste a moment gracing even to _peasants_."

Delusional was right…They were in the twenty-first century, for goodness sakes!

"Furthermore, I don't even know why you even attempted to pull that one on me, peasant, but it was a nice try, I suppose." A fierce grin spread across his face, making him resemble like a maniac once again. If he had a bloodied knife, it would be a matching picture.

Tsuna gulped.

"But you know, it kind of made me pissed." The grin took a one-eighty degree turn. "Foolish mistake, peasant."

'Mother of Reborn,' she cursed. The image of Rasiel and the knife seemed to become real. "Prince Charming was different!" she cried instantaneously.

Rasiel paused. "Who…?"

"What…?" She blinked owlishly as her fingers met her lips. 'Did that just came out of my mouth? Must've been because I was scared or something…?' It didn't matter either way. Rasiel was momentarily distracted, so she needed to continue. "Y-yeah, Prince Charming…He—he's a prince just like you, and yet he was very well-mannered to _everyone_ around him."

He huffed. "There's no such prince, moron."

"Th-there is!" She just kept digging her grave deeper and deeper… "I—uh—I'll show you the book!"

Rasiel held the silence for a minute, obviously thinking about other things while considering Tsuna's offer. "Very well then," he said distractedly. "I'll shave your liver afterwards."

Tsuna struggled not to scream as she hurried to the bookshelf. She took the book out and offered it to the boy, who merely gave her a deadpan look.

"Explain, peasant," he said testily.

"H-hai. Um, this is a story about a girl named Cinderella…" He must know that story.

"And…?"

"Wait, you never heard of Cinderella?"

"Should I?"

"But it's an all-time classic fairytale!" Tsuna exclaimed, astounded that the boy was unfamiliar to the story. 'How did he even get through his childhood without ever knowing Cinderella?'

"Perfect! Then you'll read the book to me," Rasiel said, plopping down on Tsuna's bed.

'ARGH.'

* * *

He pulled the helmet off his head and ran his fingers through his hair. Oblivious, he did not notice the young women who walked behind him blush and giggle behind his back, pointing at his general direction.

"Hot damn," he cursed aloud.

Skull was lost. As always.

* * *

"She dreams of going to the ball and dance with Prince Charming."

"Huh, just like what you wanted to do with Akihoshi-kun?"

"Wh-what?"

"Your diary."

Rasiel smirked at the sight of the girl's face being colored in a shade of red.

"R-right." Tsuna cleared her throat. "S-so there you have it. Princes are supposed to be well-mannered."

"Are you saying that I'm not, peasant?"

Tsuna, having enough of this, stood up from the floor and retorted, "Of course you're not! First you barge into my room without me knowing, and then you manhandle me and start bombarding me with 'I am prince! I do whatever I want!' routine, and you're also such a creep! Not to mention that you always go off with your bipolar tendencies—!"

Unfortunately, Tsuna wasn't able to go on from there as Rasiel suddenly stood up and walked towards her. Her mouth clamped shut as she blanched in dread.

'I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die.'

…And she felt the book slid past her fingers. Tsuna blinked rapidly and looked up to see Rasiel flipping through the pages till he was at the part where Cinderella was dancing with Prince Charming.

"Hmm, yes, I suppose that I could use some princely exercises," Rasiel admitted, rubbing his chin in thought. He didn't notice Tsuna gawking. "I confess that this trip had been a downpour on my mannerisms…"

"Wh-what…?"

"Peasant, do you have any of these…Fairytales, was it? Yes, any more of these fairytales that have princes in them?"

After having her stupor broken by Rasiel smacking her head with the book, she ran to the bookshelf and gathered all the books she could find. Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, The Princess and the Frog, everything. Rasiel easily accepted the stack and tucked it in his arm, not at all affected by the weight.

"Usheshesheshe. Looks like I do have something to stray my boredom away," he said.

"Right," Tsuna said, very nervous. "So…"

"This time, I shall spare you, peasant. However, do remember that you are to meet up with me tomorrow. Same time, same place."

With that said, the boy kicked her window open and jumped off. Tsuna wasn't even surprised.

'That was one crazy event of the day…'

He had pretty eyes…

"Aghugh!" she growled, flailing her arms.

Conflicted feelings.

* * *

Tsuna squinted when the sun glared down at her. Spring was wrapping up soon, with the wins turning warmer and the sun getting brighter. And just her luck, today was embarking on the summer weather—Tsuna hated it. She hated how the sun's rays would blind her. She hated how it would get too stuffy and uncomfortable due to the heat. She hated how she would easily sweat under her clothes. She hated summer.

Takeshi, on the other hand, was loving it.

"It's like being back in Orange County," he had told her.

"Where's that?" Tsuna had asked.

"In California. You know, in the U.S."

While the sports prodigy was happily basking under the sun and layering his skin a new tan, Tsuna hid in the shade, with her knees drawn close to her chest.

Tsuna couldn't really understand how anyone could like the sweltering temperature. It was simply dreadful. Though, looking at her skin tone, it was obvious that she didn't stay too long outside. She was pasty white. And looking at Takeshi's, he was somewhere like a light bronze. Maybe darker toned people weren't that affected by the sun, unlike someone as pale as herself.

"Ne, Tsuna," Takeshi said, rolling to his stomach. "Where's Gokudera?"

Tsuna frowned. "I dunno," she said. "No wonder it was so peaceful…"

"Eh? Why say that?"

"Well, whenever Gokudera's around, you would say one thing, and then Gokudera would get so riled up. And then he starts yelling at you, and you laugh, and it becomes, I don't know, hectic, I guess." She shrugged noncommittally.

"Huh, but I like it when he starts yelling," he said thoughtfully.

Tsuna looked at him as if he grew another head. Perhaps he did—a tumor. "Whhyyy?"

"It's fun to mess with him," Takehsi admitted. "I mean, it's like he takes everything so seriously, you know? To poke and prod him so see what makes him tick."

"But _why_?"

"I think that Gokudera's lonely."

The last statement threw Tsuna off. Gokudera? Lonely? That was ridiculous! A delinquent like him being lonely—HA! If he didn't want to be lonely, then he would've wiped away that scary delinquent attitude streak of his, maybe that way he would be much more approachable. Heck, even his admirers wouldn't confront him the way he was already.

But Tsuna wasn't as stupid as her classmates perceived him. Perhaps she wouldn't be able to understand if the Italian transfer had never told her about his history.

Tsuna wondered if being jaded through having that sort of life-style would be the ultimate result of who he was already, then maybe being a broken child representative in the guise of a delinquent helped him conceal his shattered parts. However, that didn't shake off her dislike for him. Gokudera was like a repellant, and he repelled Tsuna.

"Maybe we should try searching for him," Takeshi suggested. Tsuna agreed, not wanting to discourage the optimistic boy.

They decided to take different routes. Tsuna warned him not to get himself into crowds, knowing that the sports prodigy often get flocked by unyielding fans. Takeshi laughed and tousled her hair, much to her displeasure.

"If I was a grumpy Italian, where would I be hiding?" Tsuna muttered to herself. Turning around a corner of the building, she immediately halted when she spotted Gokudera staring absentmindedly at the sky.

'What is he doing?' she wondered as she craned her neck forward. Her eyes widened marginally when she observed that the face he wore was not a scowl or a frown, but simple peacefulness. She had never seen him at tranquility before.

And that was when he opened his mouth, as if to sing.


	15. Chapter 15

…But he just sneezed.

Tsuna buried her face in her hands, having her OTL moment. 'Just _what_ made me think that he was going to sing?' Lifting her head, she glanced back at Gokudera, who was being solemn and gloomy while looking at the sky, and buried her face again.

While Tsuna knew that she wasn't particularly good at reading people, envisaging that someone like Gokudera would sing was just plain stupid.

'Well, whatever,' Tsuna grumbled inwardly. 'I found him, so I guess that I should go cheer him up or something.' She sighed softly. Cheering someone up wasn't exactly her forte, considering how no one bothered to cheer _her_ up, hence her not able to understand the concept of cheering someone up.

She figured that she could walk up to him, ask him what's wrong, and soothe him with comforting words while patting his back. Yeah. That's what they always did in the movies! It shouldn't be too bad!

Upon making the first (and awfully shaky) step, Gokudera's despondent sigh caught her off guard, thus causing her other step to be on top of her foot. With a manly "ARGH!", Tsuna face-planted, and it was quite a painful face-plant.

There was silence.

"J-Jyuudaime?"

"…"

* * *

"Ah, I see. You came looking for me."

Tsuna nodded. "Yeah, that's right."

"Only by the sport-moron's request."

Takeshi's smile flashed in her mind. "Um, yeah." She gave a sideways glance at Gokudera, but she couldn't determine his expression since his hair curtained his face. Nonetheless, Tsuna felt as though there was something wrong, and she needn't to scrutinize his face to figure that one out.

The words "What's wrong?" nearly left her lips, but she kept quiet. She didn't really like that phrase. It sounded too overused, too redundant, and she had a feeling that he wouldn't like to hear that. Of course there was something wrong however times he would deny it. The "sufferer", in this case, always denied his problems in the movies.

Tsuna frowned as she leaned back against the bench. No one said anything for awhile, that until Gokudera flat-out asked, "Do you hate me?"

She stiffened. She turned her neck, but his head was still low. "What?"

"Do you hate me?"

"I don't!" The utterance cascaded from her tongue so simply, so easily, and so emotionally that it had deeply shocked Tsuna. It just came out…naturally.

This time, the Italian transfer lifted his head and gave Tsuna a look of incomprehension. "Jyuudaime?"

It was her turn this time. "Wh-why," she said after a big gulp, "would you ask me something like _that_?"

"I…" His eyes shifted, settling elsewhere other than her face. "I thought that you hated me. I'm not blind, Jyuudaime; I've seen how you are around me and how you are around Yamamoto Takeshi. It doesn't take long to piece two and two together."

"Well, that's because Takeshi's nice and friendly," she answered really lamely.

"Oh, so I suppose that I should imitate him in order to gain your liking?"

To picture Gokudera wearing a bright smile and laugh every now and then caused her to grimace. "No, please, don't."

"Then what should I do?" he insisted. It was obvious that he was biting down a growl. "Please tell me."

Tsuna was surprised to see the usually gruff delinquent behaving like this. He was still being his blunt self, having no regards of subtlety whatsoever, but he seemed…desperate. Desperate to have her friendship? It sounded kind of underhanded, all this just for her hand in familiarity.

He was like this before, now that she thought about it. Gokudera trying to persuade her to become friends with him, to see where it would go. And because of what? Because she risked her life saving him? Because she reminded him of his _dead mother_? It sparked a bit of frustration in Tsuna, thinking that Gokudera could turn her into a living memoir.

But it couldn't be like that, could it?

Somehow, she reminded him of his mother, thus making him to want her as a friend. They got into a heated argument when Tsuna declined, wary of the fact that she might not be able to justify the title of being a "friend". Takeshi, however, didn't seem to be getting farther from her, but the opposite, actually. Tsuna didn't know whether she should be aware of not letting herself get her hopes up or just don't care.

All in all, Tsuna didn't know what to say. A part of her wanted to assure Gokudera that he didn't need to prove anything to her because they were already friends; not as close as she and Takeshi, but close enough. On the other hand, however, she didn't want to tell him. She wanted to point to the other direction and order him to get the heck out because he was nothing but infuriation behind a pretty face. Sometimes, she just had it with him.

Tsuna didn't really have the heart to do so, anyway. Just looking at those imploring green eyes made her mouth go dry.

"I-I don't know," she stammered in truth.

"How did you end up calling Yamamoto by his given name?" Gokudera went on.

"He asked."

"Then if I asked for you to call me Hayato, would you?"

The question was not pressured with anticipation; it was inquired in a sedated tone that could rationalize. Tsuna should have felt the emanating tranquility smoothing her way for a little white fib, yet, under a gaze rather intense, she could not break out into a clean lie.

"No," Tsuna answered in all honesty.

He sighed and released her shoulders—Tsuna didn't even notice when he gripped onto her.

"I apologize," he said awkwardly.

She looked away. "I… Me too," she murmured. Not wanting to bear this time alone with Gokudera, she excused herself and hurried away.

If Tsuna were to linger anymore, then she would have heard Gokudera mutter to himself.

"This mission is a bust."

* * *

"Um, Rasiel?" Tsuna said. "I really don't think that we should be here."

"Nonsense," he scoffed. "Now, hurry up, peasant."

'It'd do me a load of good if you were to stop calling me that,' she grumpily thought. Running after him, Tsuna reluctantly crawled into the building through the partially opened window. Unfortunately, as she was trying to pull herself in, her butt got wedged in.

"Help?" she cried meekly.

Rasiel sighed exasperatedly. "Peasant, you should come with an instruction manual—I cannot see how Reborn can manage you despite your tendencies to blunder wherever you go."

Of course Rasiel would completely disregard his so-called "princely exercises" right after studying the princely ways from fairytales. Why? Because Tsuna, apparently, wasn't worthy to be treated ever so graciously by the shaggy-haired bipolar creepazoid who proclaims to be a freakin' prince.

The right eyebrow would've twitch violently if Rasiel wasn't there to see her. 'A manual on how to _manage me_? Getting ruder every time, geez!'

"And also, perhaps you would like to _lose_ some weight," he continued. "I never understood why females carry odd weight on them coming from the hips and the thighs."

"Maybe because that weight is natural?" she muttered.

He glared at her. "Don't talk back at me, peasant!"

When Tsuna was finally pulled out, they set off on running up the stairs. Well, Tsuna tried to, but she wasn't very good at anything having to do with physical exercise, not like Rasiel who could become a star sprinter.

"Now, this is why females are inferior to males. They not only carry extra fat on their person, but they have low stamina as well. It amazes me as to how the inferior species are now sent out to battle nowadays when it is clear that they should stay home to clean and cook."

'I hate you. I hate you so much. You're a complete jerk-face and I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.'

This went on for awhile, with Rasiel continuing to insult her (and, admittedly, it was worse than how Reborn would insult her) and Tsuna being aggravated by him. Now, she didn't even care if Hibari were to appear before them for sneaking inside the school building. She prayed that the prefect would beat the crud out of the prince.

Although, she was curious as to why Rasiel's brother would be here in her school. When she asked, Rasiel told her that it was a "twin thing" that he could sense Belphegor. She heard that there was some sort of connection between twins, so perhaps Rasiel was telling the truth.

But still… Why would his twin be here in Namimori Middle School?

Tsuna would throw glances from her left to her right just to look as though she was really looking for Belphegor when she wasn't even bothering to try. Although, Rasiel didn't even seem as though he was searching; he just stalked around, going in one particular direction. In the end, they were standing on top of the roof.

'Oh, well, I guess he needed some fresh air or something.'

Tsuna looked at Rasiel, who was unmoving and staring at a distance. The expression on his face was blank, but she couldn't tell since his eyes were always covered by his bangs. And, again, Rasiel just stood there. Just. Stood. There. Doing absolutely nothing, but staring and standing.

'Um, okaaay…'

It was from that point that Rasiel whipped out a dagger ('Holey MOLEY!') out of nowhere and adopted a fighting stance. His tossed his dagger in the air and caught it in a cool manner, just proving that, once again, he was an arrogant asshole. However, Tsuna was a bit too stunned about the dagger to think of a snide remark pertaining to Rasiel's arrogant assholeness.

"Someone's here," he said.

"There's no need to pull out a weapon then!" Tsuna cried out.

Ignoring her, Rasiel ran forward and ducked. Everything happened so fast that it took Tsuna a minute to have it registered in her mind: Bel swooped in.

Her eyes went wide in shock when, lo and behold, there were two identical boys facing one another! Rasiel gripped tightly on his dagger while Bel held up his knives, smirking tauntingly. Though they resembled one another greatly, Bel's hair wasn't as shaggy as his brother's and he seemed thinner.

"You lost weight," Rasiel perceived. "Been struggling, little brother?"

"Ushishishi. The food here isn't quite as filling as home's," Bel spoke. He turned his head to face Tsuna, who flinched when his eyes landed on her. "Why, if it isn't Reborn's little student. You know, I never did catch your name."

"U-um," Tsuna murmured, involuntarily backpedaling away.

There was a clang. Rasiel had lunged forward and attacked Bel, with Bel deflecting it with his knives. "Pay attention, otherwise you'll get hurt."

"Just like what I did to you eight years ago?" sneered Bel.

The gust of the attack parted Rasiel's bangs, revealing a pair of golden orbs. Tsuna could see the eyes narrowing in mild annoyance of his brother's mockery, obviously perturbed by the fact that, in their first encounter in whatever time their parting was, Bel wasn't going to take him seriously.

Taken into this account, Bel's smirk bloomed into a creepy grin, not unlike Rasiel's own creepy grins. He pushed back his older twin with one thrust. Rasiel gracefully landed on his feet and pulled out another dagger behind him.

'Just where does he keep those things?'

"Funny how a brat suffering in malnutrition can still defend himself well," Rasiel admitted.

"Ushishishi," cackled Bel. "I thank you, brother."

"Hmph. This only means that I don't have to hold back anymore, _little_ brother."

As the battle raged on, Tsuna was gawking, but she wasn't particularly surprised. After the events that went on while having Reborn as a tutor, she was more or less immune to these kinds of things. However, the fact that brothers—blood and blood, kin and kin, biological relatives, _family_, and whatever that should draw in the fine sentence of "what they're doing is really wrong"—are fighting should probably spark some conscience in them.

But what does it matter? They're not normal people, so they don't function normally.

Now that she perceived this well, they didn't even look serious about injuring one another. Rather, it seemed more like a playful banter than a hunt for spilled blood. That changed when a glimpse of Rasiel's eyes glinted with animalistic rage—so much for playfulness.

Once again Rasiel was expressing his bipolar-ness by swinging his arm against Belphegor's head. Bel ducked in time, almost a little late since Rasiel nearly knocked off his tiara. Bel released a giggle (he's been doing that a lot) and threw his knives.

Tsuna quelled the urge to scream, and sighed in relief when Rasiel deflected the attack. Nonetheless, Bel ran forward and pounced on Rasiel; he brought him down to the ground by using his weight and positioned a knife to his throat. This time, Tsuna cried, "Hiii!"

"Stop! No! What are you doing!" she screeched as she automatically launched forward.

"Hmm?" Bel nonchalantly looked over at her as Rasiel did the same.

"Stay out of this, peasant," Rasiel told her coolly.

"You can't be serious," she choked out, looking down at him in disbelief. "He has a _knife_ at your _throat_! You're at a potential risk of _dying_ and you're telling me to stay out of it?"

He had actually had the gall to crack a smile. "Ushesheshe. Foolish peasant," he laughed outright. "And since when did you care so much, anyway?"

She froze. That's right… Why did she care so much? Well, the answer was so much obvious. "Because I don't like seeing someone suffering a bloody death right before my very eyes!" she snapped, not in the mood for dealing with Rasiel's complete composure.

"Ushesheshe. If you really wish to make yourself useful, you can start by coming to our meeting place at an earlier time. I grow impatient whenever I have to wait for you."

"You won't be alive for me to meet you!"

"She has a point, you know," Bel agreed.

"My peasant has little faith in me," Rasiel sighed. "No matter."

Rasiel actually managed to kick Bel off of him, then flipping himself on his feet. If he had noticed Tsuna's shocked expression, he didn't show it. His eyes were trained on Bel, who leaped a few yards away the moment he was kicked. Tsuna had a bad feeling.

"No more fooling around," Rasiel said, bringing his daggers up to his face. "Time to get serious."

"Ushishishi. I was hoping for you to say that," Bel giggled.

And just before the moment of an epic fight would arrive, a blur of black landed in between the two boys.

'What the mother of Reborn?'

"Herbivores," growled the figure, "sneaking in the school when hours are over is against the rules."

Tsuna paled. 'No… It couldn't be…'

Lo and behold, Hibarj stood somewhat tallish (c'mon, he's not _that_ tall) and proud (now, _that_ can be exhibited well). In both hands wielded his tonfas that was crusted with dried blood. Tsuna had a foreboding hunch that the prefect had rushed over here after beating up some goons.

'Maybe if I slip outta here, Hibari won't color me black and blue,' Tsuna decided. When she carefully tip-toed to the door, just a few inches away from touching the doorknob, a dagger was struck closely to her nose. Tsuna froze, her blood turning cold. Getting the message, she wriggled away from the door.

Hibari fell into a stance, his tonfas positioned before his face. "Therefore, you must be bitten to death."

"Herbivores? Us?" Bel said in mock hurt. "What shall we do, brother?"

"Well, I know what I'll be doing later on." Rasiel threw a glare at Tsuna. "But I suppose that in order for me to do so, we'll have to bypass this fellow, won't we?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Then I conclude that we put aside our differences and teach this peasant a lesson for insulting us royals. Agreed?"

Eerie smiles made way on both boys' faces. "Agreed, dear brother of mine!"

The twins ran after the prefect who stood there like a stone wall. Panic rose at Tsuna's throat, momentarily convinced that Hibari was done for. But, of course, this was _Hibari_. Hibari, the bloodthirsty leader of the Disciplinary Faculty who took his given rank too seriously and put the word "zealous" to the test. He wouldn't be put down so easily.

With a leap, Hibari flew over the twins' heads and landed behind them and in front of her. Tsuna swallowed a gasp when the prefect looked up, their eyes meeting. It seemed as though it had been a long time since they last looked each other; she briefly observed that he had bags under his eyes. Did he have difficulty sleeping?

Suddenly, a knife made its swift entrance, nearly cutting Hibari's arm if he hadn't rolled out of the way. Hibari crouched low and kicked at Bel's ankles, but Bel jumped over it and delivered a blow at him. Hibari deflected the attack by using his tonfas. His eyes began to glance left and right and then finally upwards, noticing Rasiel about to clobber him.

"Hi-Hibari!" Tsuna cried out.

Hibari, however, managed to break free of Bel's attack and sidestepped away. With Bel's knives now unrestricted, Rasiel was about to fall into his pointy death. The evil toothy grin on Bel's face made Tsuna's stomach pool in dread. She vaguely noticed her foot making its step forward.

The next thing she knew, she had her arms encircled around Rasiel's waist. The two soared across the rooftop, and then landed with a painful thud. It was painful because Rasiel's elbow was digging into Tsuna's left boob.

"Wha—Peasant!" Rasiel hissed, trying to get up.

"Ow! Ow!" Tsuna shoved him off of her. "That hurt, you jerk!"

When the two were detangled, silence fell upon the four.

That was when Hibari uttered, "Wow."

Bel fell into fits of snickers. "My, my, Ras, you need girls to aid you in your battles? Ushishishi! How pathetic!"

Rasiel didn't say anything as he calmly stood up and dusted himself.

Tsuna didn't really want to think about how her saving the bipolar prince was an uncanny event to that when she saved Gokudera from a truck. She threw her arms in the air and cried out, "Okay! That's it! Hold up everything!"

"…?"

"Why, why, why, why, why are _you_," she pointed at Bel, "here? Why here in Japan? Why here in Namimori Middle? Why?"

"I'm in Japan because I want to join Vongola Decimo. I'm in Namimori because I'm here to collaborate with Hibari on beating Rokudo Mukuro," he answered in order.

"…" It took Tsuna a moment to digest what she had heard. She decided to go easy on this newly acquired information after going through a momentary dilemma—does she scream from stress or does she faint right there on the spot? She chose the third option: stay calm. "So, uh, why do you need to beat Rokudo Mukuro?"

Bel flashed her a smirk. "He was chosen by the Arcobaleno bass player to be part of the band, no?"

"…And how do you know that?"

"Reborn."

'Dangflabbit, Reborn.' She swallowed heavily. "And…how did you get Hibari-s-sempai to agree with you? From what I know, Hibari-sempai likes to do things solo."

"Oh, he just realized that trying to overpower Rokudo and his cronies is too much for him and his lesser skilled subordinates, so I hopped on for a ride."

'Hibari and the Disciplinary Faculty couldn't do it?' She frowned. "If that's the case, then why did you attack him?"

"A little brawl won't hurt anybody. Ushishishi."

And that brawl literally placed someone to die. Shaking her head, she moved on. "Wh-why do you need to fight Rokudo Mukuro, Hibari-sempai?" she addressed to her upperclassman.

Hibari, in return, didn't say anything. He just looked away from her.

"…"

"Hibari here found his subordinates all bloodied and beaten," Bel answered for him. "They were attacked by Kokuyo students and this had been ongoing for a week now. They were careful enough to not let it get caught under school hours, but that meant fighting all day and all night." That was probably why he had bags under his eyes.

'Okay, there's still a lot more questions to be asked, so I got to keep calm. DON'T freak out Tsuna.' She left go a long sigh. "And…and why are they attacking?"

He shrugged.

"Okay. Um, and you want to…to beat Rokudo Murko because…?"

This time, his smile was less creepy. "I plan on being the bass player of the Vongola Decimo."

'That's right. He mentioned that before.' Tsuna couldn't fight off a twitch. "But…but that would—"

"Peasant."

"Huh?" She turned around, finding a disgruntled Rasiel. "Uh…"

"Peasant, when you tackled me, you made a big mistake in doing so," he told her.

Tsuna stared at him in wide-eyed fright. "Look, I know how a dirty peasant like me isn't supposed to touch royalty, but it was by instinct, I swear! I seriously didn't want to—"

"No, not that," he cut in impatiently. "Although filth like you shouldn't grope a prince like me, I was about to say that you pushed the button."

She blinked. "The what?"

"The button," he reiterated. "You know, the button that, when pushed, will detonate the bombs that was planted all over your friend's house."

"…"

"…Peasant?"

"…Wha…"

Bel and Rasiel exchanged looks.

"WHAT!"


	16. Chapter 16

**AN:** Wow, I misspelled "Hibari". Thanks for pointing that out, _julie_, you mysterious reviewer you. I also want to add about how thrilled I am to post this part of the story. A year ago, I had this idea about what would happen what, and now I am able to post it—finally! So please, enjoy.

* * *

'Please please please please please!' Tsuna inwardly begged. 'PLEASE still be alive!'

She skidded to a halt. "Good grief! I forgot where he lives!" she cried in anguish, her fingers dug deep in her hair.

"Uh, Tsuna?"

Turning around, she found Takeshi standing behind her. He was wearing a cap, sunglasses, and a scarf (in case if his fans were to spot him). Tsuna, however, instantly recognized him as she slammed her hands on both of his cheeks and inspected him furiously like how a mother would after her baby boy had been rescued from a burning building.

"Takeshi! Takeshi! Are you okay? Oh my gosh, you _are_ okay! Thank God!" she said out of pure relief.

"Uh, bhy voudn't Eye vee?" Takeshi said, or at least tried to since Tsuna was still holding his cheeks.

"H-huh, why?" She faltered. If Takeshi was here, that would mean that he wasn't there when his home was currently burning to the ground…which would mean that his father was probably there burning with it! "Hiii! Quick, you have to take me to your home!"

He blinked. "What?"

"Hurry! This is an emergency!"

"Wait, Tsuna, you look as though you're going to pass out," he cautioned.

"No, I'm fine. We have to—" Just then, she collapsed on her hands and knees, breathing heavily. 'Okay… Maaaybe I shouldn't exert myself too much…'

"Have you been running all this way?"

She looked up. Takeshi was squatting in front of her. "M-maybe," she panted.

"Boy, you're crazy," he laughed. He swerved until his back was facing her, his hands cupped upwards. "C'mon, I'll give you a lift home."

If Tsuna wasn't so exhausted, she would've declined obstinately. But, because matters were turning ever so dire, she accepted the piggy-back ride without a word.

On the way there, Takeshi was jogging. Despite being ignorant of what was happening, he must have taken the urgency in her pleas seriously. No one really took her seriously, not even her own parents. Unknowingly, happiness bubbled inside her.

"Alright, we're here," Takeshi said, stopping his jog.

Looking up, Tsuna was shocked to see his mansion…still standing. Nothing was burning, nothing was exploding. There weren't any screaming or shouting. There weren't sirens going off coming from approaching fire trucks. Everything was at peace. Her brows furrowed in confusion. "What…?"

"You've got the wrong friend, peasant."

The unexpected voice startled Takeshi, in which made him drop Tsuna and making her land on her rear.

"Ow…"

"Oops! Sorry, Tsuna."

After helping her up, Tsuna shot a wary glance at Rasiel, who was leaning against the gates. "What do you mean by the wrong friend?" She frowned, perturbed. "And _when_ did you get here?"

Rasiel jabbed his thumb in the direction of a red motorcycle. "My butler had one delivered to me along with a tracker," he explained.

'Freakin' rich kids!' she silently cursed.

Takeshi released a low whistle. "A Sports XD? I thought they didn't sell those until next month," he said, admiring the vehicle.

"Yes, well—"

"Yes, that's very nice and all," Tsuna cut in with a scowl, a tad edgy, "but _what_ do you mean by the wrong friend? How did I get the wrong friend?" She paused. "Um, unless you mean _Gokudera_ as my other friend."

Takeshi casted Tsuna a curious look. "Isn't he your friend?"

The conversation that she shared with the Italian transfer replayed in her mind. She stifled the scowl from deepening into an uglier scowl. "In a way," she muttered vaguely. "Anyway, am I right? Did you do his house?"

"If you mean by Hayato Gokudera—or do you call him Gokudera Hayato?—then, no. I don't even know where he lives or was aware that he was here in Japan until a few days after I had those bombs planted," Rasiel said offhandedly, inspecting his knuckle.

"Bombs?" Takeshi reiterated, as if he misheard what the foreigner had said.

"Nothing to worry about!" Tsuna chirped, forcing a smile. "Um, but, if you didn't do Takeshi's home or Gokudera's home, then who's did you do?"

Rasiel must have been at least stunned when he stared at her for a moment without saying a word.

Tsuna squirmed uncomfortably. "Wh-what?"

"I must have underestimated you, peasant. You have more friends than I thought."

"…Right." The smile just stuck there. "So, who's did you do?"

"The obnoxiously loud one with a scar on his temple." Rasiel indicated the scar by drawing a short line above his eyebrow.

She gasped. "You did _Sasagawa's_?" she cried.

"Who?" Takeshi asked.

"And his apartment is, as of we speak, burning?"

"What?"

Rasiel nodded. "That's right."

"We have to get there!" Tsuna exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air.

Takeshi tilted his head, perplexity written all over his face (that much was obvious). "Where?"

"Takeshi, we have no time to lose," she huffed. Just before she could take another step, she groaned, "I don't remember where he lives!"

"If it matters to you so much, I'll be willing to lead you there," Rasiel offered.

Tsuna's eyebrows furrowed, eyes examining him askance. "You normally aren't so generous, Rasiel," she accused.

"You're normally a lot less outspoken, even when in hysterics, peasant," he shot back. "I suppose you can consider my 'generosity' to be repayment for you to gallantly rescuing me from Bel's knives. I admit, if you hadn't interfered, the results would've been bloody."

Her eyes widened in shock. 'He… He admitted it?'

Wow.

"You," Rasiel said, looking at Takeshi. "You seem to have a motorbike yourself. I assume that you have something moderate, like a Sports 3 or 4."

"Oh, I sure do, man," Takeshi said with a chuckle. "Why though? Going on a test drive?"

"No. We'll all be heading to the fire by ride so we wouldn't waste time."

"F-fire?" Tsuna paled.

"Yes, fire. It might be ashes by the time we get there, however."

Tsuna felt faint.

* * *

One mental note taken: Never take an offer to ride on a motorcycle, no matter what.

When Tsuna stumbled off the bike, she lost balance of her footing, causing herself to trip in midair. Luckily, Takeshi was there to catch her, looping his strong arm around her waist, so she didn't end up falling face-first onto the concrete ground. Now that would have been quite painful.

Anyway, upon getting off the motorcycles (and Tsuna clumsily throwing her helmet off—with hearty strength, to add), they rushed over to the area where they could see smog floating to the air; they could see the fire layering the nearby trees in dust and coloring the sky a dull orange.

By the time they got there, they could see people standing at the perimeter of the burning building, watching in wide-eyed horror. Though standing quite far, Tsuna could still feel the blazing heat of the fire mask her face. She blinked several times for her eyes to become adjusted to the bright intensity of the light.

"Oh man, this is bad," she murmured to herself.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!" she could hear Sasagawa cry from a distance.

"Oh, hey, isn't he from our school?" Takeshi said, turning around.

Tsuna hung her head. "Yeah, this is real bad."

Sasagawa was seen rushing towards the burning building, keeping a safe distance of course, and gawking quite stupidly, as if he had never seen anything so radiant. Tsuna was rather sure that he would spontaneously exclaim "EXTREME FLAME! EXTREEEME!" if it wasn't _his_ apartment set afire, and in addition to that, him knowing that a burning home was not extreme at all.

In fact, it would've been dumb of him to even holler out that around any burning building.

Moving along: when he was done anguishing the fact that all of his belongings and where he lived was all turning to ash at this minute, Sasagawa was about to do something utterly crazy—he was about to charge inside. Everyone was looking at him as he began to scream out and launch himself towards the apartment.

However, unfortunately for him (well, more like fortunately, at any rate), those who recovered from their shock quickly sprang up and piled onto the lunatic boy who was screaming due to his indescribably large sorrow and junk. Actually, they probably didn't want to be responsible for a suicidal incident, so they saved themselves by saving him.

In his abeyance, Tsuna stared down at Sasagawa with shame jabbing at her gut. Though this wasn't technically her fault, she did push the button. If she hadn't, then Rasiel could have had the bombs taken down because they had found his twin brother… But then again, just as Rasiel had admitted himself (shockingly), he would've been dead if Tsuna hadn't pushed him out of the way.

So it was inevitable to not have the button pushed anyway. Yeah, it still didn't make Tsuna feel any better.

"Boy, he's weird," Takeshi laughed.

"He's not moving," Rasiel noted. "They're just going to leave him like that?"

The people did get off of him, but, just as Rasiel had stated, Sasagawa just laid there, his face on the ground. He looked majorly pitiful. "He's not budging," Tsuna whispered. "D-did they—did they cut of his air or something?"

"That would be impossible," the prince scoffed at the girl's ridiculousness, but he didn't make a sound of assurance that Sasagawa was still alive. He was rather motionless, indeed.

"We should go help him," Takeshi said. The sports prodigy moved to take off his scarf due to the blistering heat to make his assistance towards the fallen boy easier for him, but he froze when sniffling was heard. "Huh?"

"And now he's crying," Rasiel snorted, rubbing his chin.

'Ow, the guilt hurts.' Tsuna winced.

"Something precious belonging to him must've went down in the fire," Takeshi said, ignorant of the case that he was making Tsuna feel even more guilty than necessary. "He did look pretty determined when he was about to dash straight to the apartment."

"What a foolish peasant."

"You do realize that this was your fault to begin with, right?" Tsuna grumbled, raising an eyebrow at Rasiel.

Rasiel sniffed primly. "And you were the one who caused the explosions."

'Ow. Ow. Ow. Guilt.'

"How was this his fault?" Takeshi asked.

"ANYWAY," Tsuna said, "we should take Sasagawa…somewhere. Somewhere away from here. Can't be too healthy for him to be exposed to present trauma or something like that."

The sports prodigy gave her a look, as if just by scrutinizing he could decode what Tsuna was hiding from him, but he didn't say a word and knelt down to Sasagawa's unmoving form. He pulled off the scarf and cap, handed the items to Tsuna, and threw Sasagawa's arm over his shoulder in support.

"Whoa, this fella's heavy," he remarked, steadying himself. "He's muscular too; I'm guessing he works out a lot."

"He is the captain of the boxing club," Tsuna said.

"We have a boxing club?" He paused. "How do you know that?"

"Oh, um." Well, it couldn't hurt to reveal a bit, now could it? "Well, Reborn—you remember Reborn, do you?—wanted me to recruit him to join the band. Gokudera did some brief research on his background before we went to ask him."

"Did he accept?"

"He…he declined. He said that he didn't have the time to do something other than the schedule he already kept."

They were already walking towards to the motorcycles. Takeshi frowned. "Well, that's a shame. I would've liked having another member in our band. We have Gokudera as our keyboard man, me on the guitar… Hmm, not a whole lot, I see. And we have yet to get our singer, and heaven knows that _I_ can't sing, so of course I'm out of the question."

'A singer…' It was true. In most bands, the singer was considered to be the main important role; without a singer, what good of a band were they? Knowing that this Mukuro person was a bass player (from what Bel had said), either Sasagawa or Hibari were going to be the singer or drummer. Tsuna honestly couldn't see Sasagawa as a singer (he might scream for the entire concert rather than singing), and Hibari was hard to imagine too.

"Oi," rasped a voice.

"Huh?" Takeshi looked down. "Oh, you're conscious."

"Let me walk," Sasagawa ordered.

"Sure thing." Once carefully releasing the older boy (not to mention, somewhat impassive and quiet, which was odd to Sasagawa's standards), Takeshi stepped back and settled next to Tsuna. Tsuna noticed from the corner of her eye that Rasiel was waiting for them, leaning against his motorcycle.

Sasagawa started wobbling on his feet, so his hand automatically flew onto Tsuna's shoulder for balance. Not noticing that he was making the girl uncomfortable, Sasagawa looked at the distance of where large fire trucks blocked the view of the apartment, unconsciously placing more of his weight onto her.

'Ugh.'

So, anyway, remorse and whatever emotional crap flickered in his eyes. Tsuna didn't feel like being sympathetic at the moment, even though she did experience remorse every other second. Deciding to get this over with, she cleared her throat loudly and said, "Let's… Let's go over to my place."

The boys looked at her.

"My tutor would know what to do," she clarified. "Look, S-Sasagawa-sempai, I know that this is rough on you. I mean, your home just burnt down right before your eyes."

"I get it," he grunted.

"Sorry. Um, but if we were to see my tutor now… He would know what to do."

"She's right," Takeshi agreed. "I've met the man for not a whole lot, but I can tell you that I already know that he's pretty amazing."

"You're coming with us too, Rasiel," Tsuna called over to the foreigner. "I have a feeling that Reborn will like to see your face."

"Don't go making decisions on your own, peasant," growled Rasiel.

'Well, at least he didn't refuse.'

"So, what do you say?"

For a moment, Tsuna thought that Sasagawa would throw a punch at her or toss her over his shoulder, because judging at the look of his face right now, she could tell that all of his typical EXTREME mood waned by the minute he set his eyes on his home. And now, he has a strange foreigner, a chipper fellow who resembled strikingly to an idol, and Dame-Tsuna at his wake—that was at least how Tsuna speculated Sasagawa to think.

He turned his gaze back onto her after looking at the disappearing fire that was hosed down by the firemen. "Fine," he conceded, "but I have questions for you."

'Yeah, I figured I'd be probed,' Tsuna sighed inwardly. "Alright."

'What have I got myself into?'

* * *

Rasiel was being oddly…lenient. Well, he did throw insults at her and treated her no differently, but his mood swings didn't go erratic nor did he let them take control of him. More often, he would just remain sardonic and relaxed, which brought suspicion for Tsuna's part.

Tsuna did admit that she was becoming a bit more tetchy and grouchy ever since she ran all the way from Namimori Middle to a couple blocks away from Takeshi's neighborhood. She was loaded with much worry and panic that her wariness around other people vanished. Now, she was behaving towards the boys like the way she would behave towards Lambo or Reborn.

Perhaps, whenever in such hysterics, she automatically lets her guard down. Takeshi seemed a little put off in her evasion of answering his abundance of inquiries, but didn't mind nevertheless. Rasiel was being too weird to determine how he thought of her change in personality; she, on the other hand, could easily give her verdict on him.

On the way to her home, in place of motorcycles was a car that Rasiel had ordered from his butler. Tsuna was beginning to think that maybe Rasiel was serious about being a prince, but, then again, he could've been a petty rich kid with too much imagination. Yeah, back to square one.

The bikes were stashed in the trunks while everyone loaded inside the car. It was rather silent in the duration of the drive, but it hardly bothered anyone. Everyone was consumed by their own thoughts. Eventually, their ponderings or daydreaming ceased by the time the car slowed down.

A nervous look came across Tsuna as she glanced at Sasagawa, who stood before her house. Well, here goes nothing. Literally.


	17. Chapter 17

Tsuna had dealt with a lot of crap in her life. Like how Reborn liked to play mind games with her, like how his so-called girlfriend had once tried to assassinate her, like how Leon had a strange engrossment in disgusting her (actually, that was mainly Reborn's doing), or like how she had to organize a band just so Reborn wouldn't have to put up with it. Honestly, it was Reborn's given duty and now he just dumped it on her—what kind of tutor was he? A crappy one, duh.

Reborn playing mind games must have been a curse, Tsuna suspected, because right now, right here, she was facing Bel, Hibari, and some purple-haired guy who were sitting on _her_ bed, reading _her_ diaries, while eating crumpets and tea.

Drinking freaking tea.

Oh, and that wasn't all. Not only were they placing their muddy feet all over her clean sheets, they had Lambo tied up and hung upside down from the ceiling. The afro child looked so terrified, and the yellow liquid dripping from him pretty much gave away of how scared he was.

Tsuna snapped.

Normally, at any given day, she might have squeaked in terror and hide behind Takeshi. However, today was not her day. Today, she was forced to put up with Rasiel being his usual jerk-ass self and sneak inside school, watch three boys literally put their lives at stake all because they wanted to have their petty fun, run for miles because she was so worried about Takeshi _dying_, and then found out that it was Sasagawa's apartment that had burnt to the ground instead.

Her snapping at Rasiel should've at least clued everyone about how testy she was feeling, so, by instinct, Takeshi, Rasiel, and Sasagawa (despite how he barely knew her) scooted away as Tsuna started to grit her teeth.

"Get. Off. Of. My. Bed."

The boys' heads lifted and eyed Tsuna with disinterest. That until the purple-head dropped one of her diaries and pointed at her, exclaiming, "Ah! You must be Tsunayoshi, huh? Reborn's student—"

But before he could finish his sentence, Tsuna grabbed his finger and jerked upwards, eliciting a cry from him. "I said GET OFF OF MY BED."

"Ow! Ow! Alright! I'll get off!" he wailed. "Just let go!"

When Tsuna released him, the purple-head tumbled off and caressed his sore finger.

"Takeshi," Tsuna snapped.

"Y-yes, Tsuna?" Takeshi stammered, jumping.

"Get him off the ceiling," she commanded, gesturing to Lambo.

"R-right…"

"Ushishishi," Bel giggled, thoroughly entertained. "The little girl had finally grown a backbone—"

"I TOLD YOU TO GET OFF OF MY BED!"

Hibari and Bel promptly got off of her bed.

Sasagawa's eyes bulged out of their sockets. Though Hibari still schooled his features, Sasagawa had never seen him listen to anyone, especially to some weak-looking girl. Then again, girls were always scary whenever they were pushed to the edge, and this particular girl was no exception.

Tsuna was literally fuming right now. Her face was flushed an angry red as she bared her teeth. Everyone could see her vein pulsing at her head. If she could, she would be breathing fire right about now, and thank goodness that she didn't have that ability—everyone would be burnt to a crisp already if so.

"I can't believe you guys!" she roared. "Breaking into a girl's room, even without asking permission to! And _you_," she turned towards the purple-head, who flinched at the abrupt attention, "I don't even know _you_ and yet you had the gall to sit on _my_ bed while reading _my_ diary while drinking _freaking_ tea! Who do you think you are?"

"U-um—"

"JUST because you have relations with Reborn DOES NOT mean you are granted with superiority, DO YOU HEAR?"

"Yes!" the purple-head squeaked.

"Belphegor! Hibari! I don't care if you happen to be stronger than the average person. You do not—YOU DO NOT DO WHATEVER YOU FEEL LIKE DOING! It's unethical! It's wrong! It totally goes against the principles of being a prefect!" This, she shot at Hibari. "Or a prince!" And that, she shot at Bel. "I don't care who you two think you are, but you DO NOT do this sort of dishonorable act!"

Hibari raised an eyebrow while Bel appeared indifferent.

Takeshi glanced at Sasagawa, who shared his surprise, and then to Rasiel, who wore a small smirk. Takeshi had never seen Tsuna like this—ever! Sure, he could expect her to be mildly put off, like growl under her breath or something harmless, but never to blow a fuse. But then again, he knew her not so much. And to think that he was starting to see who she really was behind that timid exterior.

And then, quite unexpectedly, Tsuna broke into tears.

"Ts-Tsuna?" Takeshi gasped.

"Wh-why me?" she blubbered. "Why do I always have to put up with this—this—this torture!"

With that said, she ran out of the room.

Silence fell upon the occupants afterwards. Takeshi nervously landed his gaze to each different face, hoping to encourage someone to speak out and _say something_. The room remained quiet for a moment, and then the purple-head stood up and mumbled something stupid.

"We probably should have taken our shoes off first, huh?"

"No, I think she's just on that time of month," Rasiel put in. Hibari agreed with a grunt.

"Tsuna's going to kill you!" swore the kid angrily before running out, ignoring the new puddle that he just made.

* * *

Tsuna rubbed her eyes and nose, not caring that her tears and snot were evident on the sleeve of her jacket. But what she did care was how foolishly she exuded herself. The boys probably thought that she was some emotional wreck all because of intruding her room. A lot of people done that to her these days, so why break down now?

Even though stress hit her like a tornado this day, she shouldn't have let her patience slip away from her like such. Now it'll be terribly awkward when she'll face them. Takeshi wouldn't want to be her friend anymore. Now there's zero chance for Sasagawa to join the band. Rasiel and Bel… Who cares about those two when Hibari'll pummel her to the ground until she's a heap of bones and blood? The purple-head would likely rat her out to Reborn, not that he would care anyway.

She suddenly grew self-conscious of her state. Look at her, weeping like a baby. What would Reborn say if he saw her? He would probably whip up a derogatory example to compare her to, and ending up hurting her some more, not that he would care anyway.

Standing up, she turned on the sink and splashed water on her face. She looked up and stifled a gasp when seeing how swollen her eyes had become. Now…what would her mother say? Before she went out to go with Rasiel, her mother took Fuuta to the library and grocery shopping… What if she returned early? How would she explain herself?

And _where_ was Reborn?

Tsuna ran out of her room and locked herself in the bathroom, finishing up a couple minute crying. She half-expected Reborn to magically open the door and demand her to clean herself up, but nothing of the sort happened. Did he go out before they had the chance to ask him to help Sasagawa?

'This whole thing is such a mess,' she thought glumly.

After cleaning herself up, she slid off her jacket and hung it on the wall of the tub. She inhaled and exhaled. 'Well, here goes nothing.'

Opening the door was quite hard when you're battling your inner self to whether face the boys or not. When she managed to conquer her reticence, she thrust the door open, hearing a smack afterwards.

She blinked. "Huh?"

"Ow…"

"T-Takeshi?"

The boy in question stepped back from the door and offered her a sheepish smile. "Hey, Tsuna."

"Wh-wh-what are you doing here?"

"Listen, Tsuna," he said instead, taking her wrist softly and drawing her out of the bathroom, "about what happened…"

Tsuna couldn't help but release a pitiful wail. "I am so sorry that you had to see that," she whispered, looking down. "I… It was…"

"It was normal; you were stressed," he cut in. "I understand, I promise. Though you didn't exactly tell me what in the world was going on and I had to guess on some things, I already knew that you were having an unbelievably hard time, especially seeing those three in your room."

She blushed. "I don't even know how they managed to ransack my room. I was so sure that I hid my diaries in a secret place."

"Well, from what I get is that the two foreigners and that guy—he's the school's prefect, right?—are rather…peculiar. What I'm thinking is that they stumbled upon your secret place and, well, you know. But there's nothing to be upset about."

"Nothing to be upset about?" she reiterated disbelievingly. "Not only did they ransack my room, but they read my diaries, my most private thoughts! I don't think that anyone would like to have their privacy being taken away."

"There's nothing to be upset about," Takeshi tried again, his voice gentler, "is because your home is still standing, is because you didn't watch your house burn down to the ground, and is because you still have to place to live."

He watched the small girl clam up, staring blankly ahead.

"You haven't forgotten, have you?"

"Of course not," she answered, sighing. "But… You're right, Takeshi. Thank you."

He shrugged, smiling good-naturedly. "Doing what I can for a friend."

For the first time, she looked up and smiled. A genuine smile. "I… I'm glad to have a friend like you."

His smile turned to a wide grin. "I could say the same thing."

"Is she better now?"

The two yelped as they leapt back. Eyes landed on Bel, who was casually leaning against the wall.

"Man, you have got to stop scaring us!" Takeshi breathed.

Bel tilted his head.

"Um, Takeshi, I think you're referring to his twin, Rasiel. This is Bel, the brother of the one who owned that red motorcycle…?"

"And the guy who took us to your place by car?"

"Yeah."

Takeshi snapped his fingers. "Twins. I'll never tell the difference."

"Ushishishi. You have a strand of snot hanging from your nose, Tsunayoshi," Bel said, pointing to his face.

She blushed furiously as she clapped a hand over her face. "JERK! Don't look!"

* * *

"Tsuna's gonna kill you! Tsuna's gonna kill you!" Lambo swore. "She'll rip you apart and tied you up with your own guts!"

"Who the hell is this kid?" wondered Rasiel as he evaded the child's little fists and kicks by holding him further away from him.

"Don't you think that you're hurting him?" Sasagawa said.

"Keh. His afro's so thick that I'm sure it doesn't even pinch."

Which was true. Rasiel, holding Lambo by his afro, did nothing to harm him. However, it was obvious that with Lambo's constant squirming, he was inflicting the struggle himself.

"She'll tear you a new one!" Lambo hissed.

"Where did such a little boy learn such awful words?" Rasiel snorted.

"Him saying that the girl tying us up with our own guts did seem pretty grotesque," the boxer agreed.

"Are you kidding? Did you hear when he said that the peasant would discard our remains in our families' food boxes?"

Sasagawa made a face. "_Okay_. That is extremely gross!"

"Tell me about it."

Sasagawa turned his gaze away from the two before glancing at Hibari. The purple-haired man had run off elsewhere, now reduced to him, a toddler, a tiara-wearing guy, and Hibari all nice and cozy in a girl's bedroom. Geez, how awkward is that? Sasagawa planned to leave the room and go join Takeshi in finding Tsuna, but Rasiel stopped him.

Sasagawa wasn't sure what to do anymore, considering the fact that the girl went from tyrant to a weeping mess. Additionally, where was this so-called Reborn who was supposed to be helping him out? And, for what seemed to be the millionth time, the question ran through his head again: What was Hibari doing here?

Being a classmate of the prefect involuntarily promoted awareness of his influence in the school. Sasagawa didn't turn a blind eye whenever he witnessed the remains of Hibari's battles, but there was little that he could do. He acknowledged that Hibari was very much stronger than he was, and though there was a part of him that desired to engage him in a fight, Sasagawa respectfully feared him as well.

Still, it didn't explain why Hibari was here and why he didn't tell off Tsuna when she screamed at him. It was…a strange sight.

He heard rumors about a girl—her nickname was Dame-something—being favored by Hibari. He didn't believe initially, but after seeing what happened, he wondered if Tsuna was this particular girl.

Sasagawa knew that it'd be suicidal, but he took his approach anyway. "Oi, Hibari."

The prefect didn't even bother to look or regarded him in any way.

"Oi, I just want to know what your relationship with that girl is."

"Hn. That is none of your concern."

He stifled a snort. "Sawada, that girl—she doesn't look like the kind of person you would acquaint yourself with."

For a second, he thought he saw Hibari's eyes flash. "And you?"

"What about me?"

"What is your relationship with the herbivore?"

"Oh. She asked me to join this band of hers even though I'm musically retarded," he said, scratching the back of his head.

"Hn."

It could have been his imagination, but Sasagawa thought he saw Hibari appear…annoyed. It was hard to tell. There was some shift in his impassive expression, though…

No, that'd be ridiculous. Sasagawa shook his head from the notion. If anything, Hibari was guy but a pack dealer. He was probably raised by wolves, for all he knew. After all, despite his young age, a character of that much stoicism in him couldn't be amended that easily.

* * *

"I'd still like to hear some answers from you, you know," Tsuna said with all the mustered courage that remained.

Bel smirked. "Oh?"

'Oh good grief, he's like the chipper version of Rasiel.' Masking weariness, she responded, "Yes, like how you come to recognize me as Reborn's student at first hand."

"In order to find him, finding his student would be an essential key, dontcha think?"

"Then how'd you know that Reborn had a student?"

"Looked into some files on a high-security guarded database." And he even had the gall to look proud of it too.

Takeshi looked as though he was going to conjure an inquiry, so Tsuna cut in with another question of her own. It would make this day much easier if they didn't have an ignorant civilian (or, in this case, a celebrity) discover the dangers of…of whatever her life revolved around. And he was already on the brink of finding out. "Why would you do such a thing?"

Bel released a melodramatic sigh. "It is for the reason that I had mentioned before, Tsunayoshi," he said. "I wish to join the Vongola Decimo."

"Then you might as well start with how you know about it."

Heads shot up, finding Reborn looking down at them with a small frown donning his lips.

"Tsuna," he said, his voice dangerously soft, "why is the prince of Terrasanta within our presence?"


	18. Interlude 1

**Disclaimer:** no own KHR. DUR.

This story is an **EXTRA**.

* * *

Tsuna sighed. It left her unsettled that girls were shooting her looks of odium just because Takeshi happened to be sitting next to her, smiling a bit brighter than usual, but to have the damn boy force her to join a softball team just because the game was in this season was a sentiment full of pure acrimony.

Despite her protests, Takeshi wrote her name on the sign-up sheet anyway. Heck, he even volunteered to be the coach's assistant! It didn't really help having the girls trying to snatch his attention 24/7 or having the newscasters interviewing him every time they were at practice, or did it help to have him latching onto her like a leech. A happy-go leech with a VERY nice grin.

So what if Tsuna liked his grin? Gokudera had to be the only organism on the face of planet earth to find his grin to be annoying.

Thus far, Tsuna had been to three games and played the position as benchwarmer. It didn't really mind her that she wasn't on field, actually playing, but being the benchwarmer meant that she had nothing better to do. She contemplated about bringing her studies or a gameboy with her, but, much to her disappointment, Takeshi told her that she had to focus on the game in order to understand the mechanisms of baseball—or, in this case, softball.

'I'm not so much of an analyzer,' Tsuna had thought. Well, it didn't matter anyhow; Takeshi would be satisfied as long as she had her eyes trained on the field, daydreaming or paying attention.

Once again, she was being benched along with a few other girls who wore themselves out for the first five innings. Takeshi decided that he wanted to sit next to her rather than conversing with the other girls about the basics, the philosophy, the famous players, the tactics, and the whatever of softball and baseball.

Deciding to break her record of softball-watching, she solicited, "Can you hand me that water bottle?"

"Sure thing." Takeshi handed her the bottle without looking at her, eager stare directing right at the pitcher. "C'mon, Sunako! You. Can. Do. It!"

Tsuna watched the batter blush under the cap before giving a quick wave at him.

When no one was looking (or glaring, whichever worked better), Tsuna hastily uncapped the bottle and poured the water onto her uniform pants. Standing up, she cried, "Coach! I just wet myself!"

The man glanced at her before looking at the damp spot. "Damn, Sawada! Can't you control that bladder of yours?"

"No…"

Normally, Tsuna would suppress the urge to cry of misery at the giggling girls, but this time she ignored the girls and suppressed the urge to cry of bliss when the coach gave her the admission to go.

Before she took the opportunity to flee, Takeshi grabbed her wrist and said, "Wait, Tsuna, it's just water that you spilled on yourself. I didn't even see you take a single sip of water!"

'Curse you, Yamamoto! CURSE YOU!'

The coach quirked a brow. "So you didn't piss yourself?"

"Uh…"

"Sit down, Sawada!"

She plopped down on the bench, trying her very hardest not to scowl at the boy, so she scowled at the ground. Takeshi, apparently misunderstanding what she really felt, smacked her on the back and reassured, "Don't worry, Tsuna! It's not even that noticeable."

She gave him a deadpan look.

"Takeshi?"

"Yeah, Tsuna?"

"Shut up."

Predictably, he smiled in amusement. "Ha, you've been hanging around Gokudera too much, eh?"

She winced. "Don't say that!"

"Well, it's gotta be true! You were just a shy little thing when we started out as friends."

"I just… I just got used to you, is all."

If possible, his smile became a bit coy. He ran his hand at the back of his head and said, "Oh, is that so?"

"Yeah," Tsuna said, not noticing the hint of bashfulness in his smile. "You're the kind of person anyone could get used to. You have this…air about you, I guess."

"Thanks, Tsuna."

"Mmhmm."

The two sat without any other words to exchange, roars of cheering and hooting filled their ears. While Tsuna sat in absentmindedness, Takeshi smiled a little broader than usual, flickering his gaze at the small girl next to him from time to time.

When the fifth inning was over, the girls ran back to the bench to get ready for batting. They surrounded Takeshi like flies to honey, bombarding him with questions about how well did they do on the field, and, as always, he graciously complimented each and every one of them. Tsuna had a sneaking suspicion that complimenting someone when it had to do with his favorite sport was much easier to do than any other subject.

The last couple girls to trudge in were shouldering a limping girl get back to the bench. The coach jogged to them and asked, "What happened?"

"Tomomo-chan sprang her ankle when she tripped on a pothole," explained one of them.

"Damn! She was supposed to be up at bat after Yamanaka."

"Oi, Coach! Tsuna can go in her stead!" Takeshi called out.

With that said, Tsuna found herself donned in batting gloves and helmet, holding a bat and facing the pitcher.

'What in the world?'

"Sawada! Sawada!" the coach called. "Turn to the side! The side!"

"Turn perpendicular to the pitcher!" Takeshi joined.

After shifting her position, now facing the girls of the other team, snorts and murmurs of "Did she wet herself?" drifted. Again, Tsuna wasn't tied down by normality as she negligently ignored them and poised the bat above her shoulder.

"Swing this, Tsuna!" Takeshi called out again. "You got it DOWN!"

The pitcher drew the ball up high, and then instantly dropped her hand and chucked the ball. Tsuna swung the bat, but didn't feel the hard vibration of bat and ball in collision.

"STRIKE ONE!"

"Sawada! One foot out of the box!"

She did as the coach told her, stepping out of the white chalk box with one foot, and glanced up at the coach.

"That was a low ball. You have to swing if the ball's above the knees and below the chin. Don't swing if so."

"Eye on the ball, Tsuna!" Takeshi shouted.

Tsuna nodded in assent and stepped back into the box. This time, Tsuna didn't swing at all when the ball flew past her.

"STRIKE TWO!"

'UUGH.'

"SAWADA! One foot out of the box!" She did so. "If the ball is above the knees and below the chin, hit it! This is going to be the last one, so if anything close, swing!"

She sighed and stepped back inside.

"C'mon, TSUNA! EYE ON THE BALL! EYE ON THE BALL!" Takeshi hollered.

This time, Tsuna tilted her head downwards and eyed the direction where the ball would most likely make impact with the bat if thrown a strike ball. When she saw the ball launch out of the hand, Tsuna conjured all strength within her arms and _swung_.

Bat met ball.

"Run! Run! Run!" the girls chanted.

"GO! SAWADA! GO!" the coach bellowed.

"RUUUN!" Takeshi shouted.

The girl snapped out of her daze, realizing that her swing sent the ball a good five feet away from her while the pitcher scurried to fetch the ball. She propelled herself from home base and headed toward first base, a sensation of seldom triumph spreading across her body.

'I did it,' she thought, an impossible smile worming its way on her lips. 'I did it! I did it! I did it!'

And that was when she tripped.

Someone from the opposite team tagged her, marking her out. Dragging herself back to the bench, she was met with Takeshi's radiant smile and comment of "Well, at least you tried!"

"Takeshi?"

"Yeah, Tsuna?"

She smiled sweetly. "Shut up."

Next week, Tsuna happily quit the team despite Takeshi's protests.


	19. Chapter 19

Reborn regarded them with an arched brow. They sat on either chairs or on the sofa, some nervous, confused, or indifferent. Sasagawa, unsure what was going on when a man wearing a fedora suddenly stepped in, looked around as if trying to beseech answers with his eyes. Tsuna ignored him as she stared at Reborn, grimacing.

"Well, well, Dame-Tsuna, not only did you invite one prince of Terrasanta, but _two_," Reborn said lightly. His fingers drummed on his folded arm. "Just imagine how _relieved_ their parents will be once they found out that they were under your care all this time."

"Are you insinuating that I _kidnapped_ them?" Tsuna cried, springing onto her feet.

"No, of course not. Do you find me foolish enough to actually believe that someone like you can accomplish such feat?"

She muttered something incoherent before plopping back into her seat.

"However, I am most curious as to why they are here. Normally, royalty would alert a large fuss if they wanted to plan a vacation here in Japan, even in a quaint little place like Namimori."

It seemed as though Sasagawa managed to register everything that was just said because his expression went from confused to quietly stunned to manifestly alarmed. "P-princes? Royalty?" he sputtered loudly.

The man finally turned his full attention onto him. "Sasagawa Ryohei," he mused, much to the boy's shock.

"H-how do you know my name?" Sasagawa gasped.

"That's because he's Reborn," Takeshi chirped unhelpfully. "He knows almost everything!"

"Reborn…?"

"Let's see… You're Sasagawa Ryohei, has a sister two years younger named Kyoko, was orphaned at the age eight, didn't have any other relatives to adopt you, lived in an orphanage until you decided to move into an apartment, and now you're homeless because your home and all your belongings had gone down in the fire," Reborn listed, checking off with his digits.

Tsuna's eyes shot wide open. "Reborn… I-I think that you s-said enough…" she whispered.

Sasagawa stared at Reborn with wide-eyed shock, unresponsive. Tsuna felt as though she would be doing the same thing if it weren't for the fact that she was more repulsed than shocked. She didn't know what in the world possessed Reborn to say such things in a candid manner. There was evidently an underlying plan behind his words, but still, it was rather cruel, even for the likes of him.

Well, he was a manipulative bastard…

"Ushesheshe. I think he's undergoing shock," Rasiel snickered, not even shredding a bit of guilt for planting those bombs IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Reborn, being the insensitive man he always were, rolled his eyes and said blandly, "He'll get over it."

"How can you say that?" Tsuna demanded, frustration literally tipping her over to run her fingers to the roots of her hair and yank hard. "You just—you just—"

"YOU BASTARD!" Sasagawa screamed. He leapt onto his feet and bared his teeth, his face all red from his uncontainable rage. "How dare you say that to my face! I don't even know who you are and yet you have the gall to say some shit!"

"Hiii!" Tsuna squeaked quietly. The boy educed fright from her due to his abruptness. However, that much was understandable. Really.

Reborn was unperturbed. "Actually, the gall was unneeded. You need to simmer down your anger, Ryohei. It won't do well to your health."

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"Is it me or is today getting really dramatic?" Takeshi whispered to her. Tsuna groaned in her hands.

* * *

"You're Master Pao Pao?" Sasagawa gasped.

"That's right, Ryohei," Reborn said solemnly. "I am."

"But—but _why_?"

"I've done this so that I may strengthen your dominance over your inner demon. You had failed me."

Sasagawa collapsed on his knees. "I…I wish to apologize, master!" He bowed until his forehead met the floor.

Reborn gave him a curt nod. "What is done is done. I regret that I was the one who had failed to teach you well."

"No, master! You had taught me well! It is I, your obtuse student, who had failed to meet your standards!"

"No, my faithful student, it is I who had failed."

"No, master_! I was the one who failed!"_

"Wow, can't they just make up their minds and put it so that they're both failures?" Rasiel said, boredom already etched onto his face. His brother, on the other hand, and thank God, kept a consistent sentiment of amusement—he was probably perpetually amused.

"Today's been really eventful," Takeshi laughed.

Tsuna's head was pounding from all the crap and drama and crap. 'Reborn's just doing this so he could get the upper hand of the situation. That low sneak.'

Manipulative bastard to the end.

* * *

So it happened to be arranged that Sasagawa will be staying with the Sawada's until he could…do something about his situation. Tsuna assumed it was until he earned enough cash to get the hell out of her house because, to put it frankly, her house was as full as it was already (you have Reborn, Lambo, and Fuuta crashing in the same place, you tend to get a bit testy).

The issue at hand was out of the ordinary, so not even Tsuna could squeeze any lasting sympathy toward the not-homeless-anymore boy.

Her mother was happy to have another guest, of course. Tsuna, though knowing her mother well enough, still couldn't comprehend the utter naivety coming from the woman. You have yourself a sultry man, a bratty kid, and a…a…well, Fuuta's actually pretty decent, well-mannered at that, _but that's not the point_! The point was that why would the woman want to take care of _another_ one? Hadn't she been affected by Sasagawa's "EXTREME!"s?

Unbelievable.

What's more, what everything had occurred was making her head spin. First came the fire—that was all sad and teary, then you have the anxiety—having Hibari and Bel and purple-who-knows-who in her room caused such, then Sasagawa was stirring up the drama with his yelling fit, and then…all that nonsense builds up and you find yourself wearied from being exasperated and flummoxed.

She didn't even want to know how Sasagawa came to know Reborn as Master Pao Pao.

"Wow, Tsu-chan, I never knew you had so many friends—all quite handsome too, at that," Nana giggled in her ear.

Tsuna's forehead was introduced to the counter. "Mom, _please_."

She shrugged. "Do you boys want to stay for dinner?" her mother inquired cheerfully, imaginary flowers popping behind her.

"Sure!" Takeshi chirped, imaginary sparkles popping around his head. "I'll just call my dad that I'll be coming home late."

"Hn." Hibari was about to exit through the door, his black uniform billowing behind him in that typical dramatic fashion of his, that until Nana stopped him by throwing her arms around his neck (much to Tsuna's horror) and cried, "Hibari-kun! You _must_ stay! I still haven't given you my gratitude for dropping Tsu-chan's things!"

"…Hn." Hibari leveled Tsuna a stare before dipping his head in assent.

"Hooray!" Nana cheered like a high school girl.

"Sawada-san, I cannot thank you enough TO THE EXTREEEME!" Sasagawa cried, manly tears pouring out of his eye sockets while simultaneously disturbing Tsuna.

"Oh, don't worry, dear! I'm happy to have you stay with us," Nana assured warmly. "How about you two? Are you boys staying?"

"Hmph! Me? Lower myself to feast upon peasant rations?" Rasiel sniffed in distaste while making his leave.

"Ushishishi," was all Bel said before following his brother out the door.

"Sweet. I'd love to eat Jap food," the purple-head said, suddenly popping out of nowhere.

Tsuna didn't know anymore.

* * *

"Well, there. He's here, so go and ask him," she huffed.

"No can do," Reborn said.

"What? Why not?"

"Because I ordered _you_ to do it."

"But—"

"And as my pupil, you must follow your tutor's orders."

'What the fish.'

The dinner was WAY noisier than it really should have been. Even with Lambo not around (wherever the brat may be), the exuberance going on at the dining table still rang her eardrums. Tsuna thought that Hibari would've browbeaten everyone, knowing that the prefect was widely known for his distaste for crowds—even Takeshi caught on after a week of being a Namimori student.

Surprisingly…Hibari restrained himself pretty darn well. Every now and then, she would sneak a glance across the table and catch him daintily feeding himself, a twitch at the eyebrow here and a flicker of annoyance in his narrowed gaze there.

Not once did he seem to be tempted to jump onto the table and slash everyone with his tonfas. It was probably her mother's presence that kept him at bay. For whatever reason, Hibari was being polite towards Nana. Well, going by scary blood-thirsty prefect standards.

And yet, because of this unexplained self-control, Reborn decided that _now_ would be the perfect time to ask Hibari to join the band, probably thinking that he was in a mild-temperament mood. Hah, as if Hibari would have any of those days—something was definitely up.

Perhaps that was why Tsuna was being a little more obliging to Reborn's orders and making her way (reluctantly) towards the prefect. Well, she would've approached him one way or the other—Reborn always gets what he wants, sadly, and karma hasn't struck him dead yet.

'Can't believe I'm immured to this.'

Hibari was just standing in the hallway, leaning against the wall and doing nothing in particular. Tsuna was puzzled, wondering why he was just…standing there. Shouldn't he just go home or something…?

Inwardly shrugging, she swallowed her nervousness and squeaked, "Sempai?"

He opened one eye and grunted his acknowledgement.

'Wow. Easier than I thought.' She cleared her throat. "A-ano… Uh…" A bead of sweat suddenly developed onto her forehead. She was THAT tense. "W-wouldyoupleasejoinourband!"

A small noise escaped from him.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

The silence was suffocating.

It was to her relief that Hibari opened his mouth and said, "Herbivore."

"Y-yes?"

"…"

"…Ano…"

"…Hn."

With that said, he brushed past her.

'…'

* * *

"Bye, Tsuna! Thanks for the delicious meal, Sawada-san," Takeshi said with a bright smile.

When everyone had finally left (save for Sasagawa who had spontaneously collapsed onto the living room couch), Tsuna released a weary sigh and helped her mother clean the dishes. While doing so, she couldn't help but notice how radiant Nana was being, a grin too large for her face showing.

"You've made a nice bunch of friends," the woman giggled. "I was a little taken back that they happened to be all boys, and you even befriended the two foreign twins who left earlier. Were they from the same country where Gokudera-kun came?"

Tsuna paused and turned to look at her mother in uncontained disbelief. Her? Friends with _them_? That'll happen till hell freezes over. Although, it wasn't as though Tsuna had the heart to tell her mother otherwise—the happy look just seemed so special that she would hate to watch it fall as she says, "They're not my friends."

However, she couldn't say that they really were her friends, because they weren't. She felt as though it'd be something that she would regret later, so she decided to keep it vague.

Tsuna gave a half-hearted shrug. "Something like that."

* * *

**A/N:** Hibari's, like, "FINALLY, STUPID HERBIVORE!"


	20. Chapter 20

**AN:** This story has slow plot, has Tsuna and Skull out for each others' throats, has EXTREMEness, and has Rokudo Mukuro…in the next chapter.

* * *

Somehow, Tsuna had fallen into habit of poking her head out the door, tentatively looking both ways before scurrying her way to school. Normally, by the time when she exit the door or reach to the nearest block, Gokudera would be there to make his presence. His usual greetings of "Good morning, Jyuudaime!" and stiff company had strangely been integrated as her typical morning routine, like forcing herself to get up to go to school.

It had been odd enough now that Gokudera had seemingly disappeared from the face of the earth, but with Takeshi behaving as though Tsuna was a haven was even odder. It wasn't as though the sports prodigy acted so desperately like Gokudera previously, but became a bit more…attached. Whenever he moved towards her, she could visibly see him relaxing significantly.

Tsuna wasn't sure how to feel about this.

This wasn't like anymore of his other peculiar new habits where Tsuna would begin to worry about the chance of losing his friendship; this was more about her worrying about Takeshi's sake, which would be considered as startling since there wasn't a time since she had been caring about others.

'I still don't know what happened at the hospital, when Takeshi, Gokudera, and Lambo went to the future,' Tsuna thought as she dragged herself to the next block. 'And since I managed to recruit Hibari, that means I have another opportunity to ask Reborn anything, but I highly doubt that he would know what occurred where they had gone to.'

Tsuna didn't hear the approaching footsteps behind her, too occupied with her own thoughts and the scuffling of her feet. Before she realized who was behind her, a muscled arm swung around her neck and brought her body against a hard body.

"Ack!" she squeaked.

"Oi, Tsuna," rumbled a familiar deep voice. She lifted her chin to find a displeased Sasagawa—no, no, it was Ryohei now. Ryohei. "You keep forgetting."

She smiled sheepishly. "Uh. Sorry."

It had been a few days since Ryohei began living with her. He slept on a futon in the living room with a change of clothes for him in a chest next to him. Everyday, he would be the first to rise in the morning to go out for his ritual jogs. He had gotten into habit of making newspaper deliveries before getting ready to go to school, and since Nana had been so insistent that he didn't have to get a job, he settled with simply exercising.

Tsuna didn't think that she had seen Ryohei so happy, especially since her mother had dubbed him as the pseudo-son of the family. He was so happy about having a _family_ that he nearly caused Tsuna going deaf in one ear from bursting into tears and snot.

So…she had gone from being Sawada to Tsuna.

But there wasn't a chance that she was going to call him "big brother".

Ever since then, Ryohei had attempted to drag her to the hospital with him to see Kyoko, but Tsuna always ran away. Since that incident with Hana, she felt that it would be painstakingly awkward for her to face her again, so, despite how cowardly it was, Tsuna would always run away.

'It's been a few days and he's settled into the family really well. Has he always wanted to be part of a family, even when it's like this?' Tsuna had once ruminated. She was watching Ryohei playing with Lambo and Fuuta that time, and it occurred to her that he had no one else other than his little sister. 'I wonder if he's okay with this.'

His rigidity towards the Sawadas had been allayed instantly, but he's been quite adamant on repaying for their accommodations. While Nana had been flattered whenever Ryohei would help her carry in groceries or open the door, Tsuna was exasperated. His attempts of being her "big brother" did nothing but grate her nerves, and while she could put up with his "EXTREME!"s, trying to play as her protector was majorly disgruntling.

One of those moments would be walking with him to school every morning.

Like this.

Ryohei looked down at her as if she had transgressed the laws of being a Sasagawa: Never diss boxing. "How can you? I told you yesterday at night!"

Tsuna sighed. "Ryohei, it just slipped my mind. No big deal, alright?"

If she thought that would alleviate the situation, she thought wrong. Ryohei's eyes went wide as his brows furrowed. "No big deal? It's an EXTREME deal, Tsunayoshi!" Oh, there. He used her full name. Gosh. "What if a suspicious man were to assault you? What _then_? You'd be in EXTREME danger, Tsunayoshi!" he exclaimed, flapping his arms wildly.

"Okay!" she complied hastily, feeling the comings of a headache. "I won't leave without you, alright? Now, stop hollering, please."

The boy grinned in satisfaction and crossed his arms, oblivious of Tsuna's resigned vexation. "See! You should always listen what your elders tell you to do!"

'Otherwise I'll suffer from chronic headaches? Too late for that, mister.' Tsuna shook her head and sighed again, picking up the pace where she last stopped as Ryohei tailed after her.

As they waited for the bus to arrive, a familiar man with purple hair sidled next to them through the crowd. Tsuna didn't miss a beat to groan aloud. Ryohei looked down at her curiously before following her gaze, and then his face split into a grin. "Morning, Skull!"

"Yo, Sasagawa," Skull returned. He frowned at Tsuna. "Always so happy to see me, right, Tsunayoshi?"

Tsuna, still unwilling to forgive the man for breaking into her room and reading her diary, frowned at him. "Just what part of happy do you see—"

"So, anyway," Skull cut in, pretending not noticing the twitching on the girl's brow, "nice day we're having, yeah?"

Ryohei gave him a look of confusion. "Yeah, sure, but what are you doing here, Skull? Though it's nice to see you here, I just remembered you saying that you had to go to Italy the day before."

It was the day after Ryohei's invitation to the Sawadas that the purple-haired man made his emergence before Tsuna. When he introduced himself as Skull, Tsuna kicked him in the crotch. Reborn never had a prouder look on his face. Ever.

After learning that he was Skull, Tsuna demanded to know why on earth he would want _Hibari_ to be part of the band. Skull didn't answer because he was too busy screaming at her, wanting to know why she kicked him. The two hit it off badly, and, so, it had become very known that they disliked each other very, _very_ much.

Reborn had found it all too amusing.

In fact, when they were gathered for band practice, Skull never got the chance to work with Hibari because he and Tsuna were thrown in a dispute. Admittedly, the two didn't know what they were arguing about. Reborn didn't find this amusing at all and pressed the big red button, sending them to who-knows-where.

Skull and Tsuna returned later, both having their clothes shredded and their eyes wide with alarm.

"I did go," the man said, answering to Ryohei's question. "Just came back last night."

Ryohei's eyes widened. "That fast?"

"Private jet," Skull said smugly. "You can get anywhere in that thing."

"That is EXTREME!"

"Sure is."

"What an ephemeral visit," Tsuna muttered under her breath.

"I know that you missed me, Tsunayoshi," Skull said in a saccharine tone. He hopped over to her and threw his arms around her shoulders, pulling her roughly in for a mock-hug. "I missed you too."

"Ugh." She scowled. "Get off of me!"

"Jeez, aren't you ever going to forgive me?" he snorted, releasing her.

"No," she deadpanned.

"What? But you forgave Hibari and Bel! Why not me?"

"Are you serious? Hibari-sempai is terrifying while Belphegor isn't quite sane in the head. It's easier to be fearful of them than to keep a grudge."

The bus came rolling by. People lined up to embark the vehicle and had filled out all the seats, leaving Tsuna and Ryohei stuck standing and gripping onto the handles. Strangely, Skull had boarded on the bus with them. She gave the man a sideways glance, causing him to huff.

"Coincidentally, where you're being dropped off is where I need to go to," Skull explained.

"Great," Tsuna grumbled.

"Man, why're you so grumpy? From what I heard from Reborn, you're usually—I don't know—timid and demure." He prodded her side. "Did Reborn's antipathy for good-looking people like me rub off on you?"

It had been clear that Reborn, even Colonnello, looked down on the younger man. Was it because of his carefree, chipper personality or blatant immaturity (both excellent answers, actually), Tsuna didn't know. Veritably, they treated the purple-haired man as an errand boy. If she emitted control and dominance, she would too (well, maybe not).

Tsuna smacked his hand away. "No, it's not just you," she said, sighing.

"You've been doing that a lot," Ryohei pointed out.

"Doing what?"

"Sighing."

"I thought it was a Tsunayoshi thing," Skull puzzled.

"No, I don't think so."

She almost sighed again. Has she been sighing a lot? If so, why didn't Takeshi tell her? Maybe he was being too nice about it. "Look, it's just—I've been a bit stressed lately. That's all."

The two males exchanged looks. "But Gokudera Hayato isn't here."

"What?"

"Isn't he the one who usually makes you want to pull your hair out? That's what Reborn told me."

'And just what has Reborn been telling you these days?' She shook her head. "Does it really matter?"

But they went on as though she hadn't said anything. "And those foreign twins seemed to make you go berserk before," the boxer added. "You went into an EXTREME fit!"

"…Don't remind me."

"Yeah, and though those the Terrasanta twins had gone, you're still sighing," Skull went on offhandedly. "Perhaps you're still on your per—"

"I don't know why, alright?" she snapped agitatedly. "Maybe I'm just tired of life or something."

Ryohei's face cleared by the illuminating piece of information. He let go of his hold of the handle and grabbed onto Tsuna's shoulders, looking at her seriously in the eye. "Don't, Tsuna," he growled. "Don't you dare give up to the EXTREME!"

Why has his "EXTREME"s gone a bit more intense than normal these days? "Uh, Ryohei—"

"Don't give up! Life is worth living for, Sawa—I mean, Tsuna! Don't back down! Life is like boxing: if you back down, you'll never win the prize belt!" he continued to roar at her face, not at all knowing that his spit flew into her eyeball.

"Gah, Sasagawa! I get it! Just—just back up, will you?"

But he didn't hear her, too worked up with his inspirational speech. "And if you lose the tournament, how else will you pay for your sister's hospital funds? How else will you enjoy life when you don't find yourself winning in boxing? How else will you—"

Suddenly, the bus made a swerve, and they were all reminded how important it was to hold onto your handle when standing. Knocked out of his balance, Ryohei toppled over Tsuna and landed on her. Tsuna, who was standing next to Skull, toppled over him. Skull, who was standing next to a woman, toppled over her. The woman, who was standing next to another person, toppled over him.

The domino effect went on like that until the last person fell onto the driver's lap, causing the driver to suffer cardiac arrest due to surprise _and_ accidentally jerking the wheel way over to the right _and_ stepping down hard on the pedal, thus sending the bus to crash into an icecream stand. Additionally, because of the acceleration, those who were sitting were thrown forward off their seats and hurtled onto the floor.

One old lady broke her nose.

On account of this calamity, Tsuna and Ryohei went to school late. They, to further their perpetual misfortune, had to face the wrath of Hibari.

* * *

Takeshi and Tsuna were walking to the parking lot where Takeshi had his motorcycle parked. It was decided that this would be easier for Takeshi to go on bike to drive back home after band practice, so Tsuna agreed on being the martyr and sucked up the thrill ride (for her part, it wasn't thrilling at all).

There were times when Takeshi's admirers would flock around his motorcycle, begging him to take them for a spin. 'They just want to wrap their arms around him,' Tsuna had thought one time. 'They'd be more concern about the ride itself once he gets the bike running.'

It was true. Tsuna never once thought about how her arms would encircle tightly around his torso, her chest pressed against his back. Her mind was always cycling with the thoughts of "Holy cow, don't fall don't fall don't fall don't fall".

"Colonnello told me the reason why Gokudera's absent is because he and Fon had gone to America for a music competition or something," Takeshi said. "Don't know where exactly, though."

"San Francisco, California," Tsuna supplied. "Fon-san mentioned it before."

He perked up. "California? Have I ever mentioned that was the place where I met the Padres? And the Giants and the Dodgers…"

"Yeah, like, a million times, Takeshi."

"Have I mentioned how you look as though you didn't get any sleep in two days?"

"Only three times, now."

After driving to Tsuna's home, they would start band practice. They would see Hibari there at a later time since he was wrapped-up with his prefect duties. So far, Takeshi had been catching up fast with the guitar, impressing Colonnello. As for Hibari… Well, it was unknown what he was wanted to be as, and Tsuna, frankly, was curious.

The only open positions were singer, drums, and bass. Ah, speaking of bass, Tsuna had told Reborn of Bel's interest in being their bass player despite Rasiel's warnings (screw with him, the friggin bipolar prince of buttholeness). However, Reborn told her that it wasn't up to him who selects the bass player, but the Arcobaleno bass player, Viper.

'Well, that sucks. Guess I'll have to go through the trouble of trying to convince this Rokudo guy. Wait a minute.' Tsuna tugged on Takeshi's sleeve to gain his attention. "Say…have you heard about the issue with the Kokuyo Middle School students the Disciplinary Faculty are currently having with?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Everyone knows about it, actually."

'How come I didn't until Belphegor told me?' She frowned lightly. "Well, I'm a bit late as to hearing the news. Can you update me on anything new?"

Takeshi smiled. "Sure! Let's see… Apparently, Hibari-sempai has been having difficulty settling with those Kokuyo punks, and you can see it by the dark circles around his eyes lately. It's like a yakuza feud, hahaha!"

"Anything else?" she pressed.

"The round-up leader goes by the name Rokudo. The whole Kokuyo versus Namimori shebang is unknown, really."

Bel did inform her about how Rokudo and his cronies was the root of this. Given that she didn't attend to any club activities, she probably left school right on the time when trouble would stir up. That was why she didn't notice anything of mayhem—good thing too; ever since she witnessed that fight the twins and Hibari participated in, she didn't want to see anything of it ever again.

'Didn't Belphegor say about joining Hibari as an aid, though? But wasn't he dragged away by Rasiel?' Tsuna hadn't seen the Terrasanta twins again after that one hectic day (the twins going crazy on one another, Ryohei's apartment exploding, Tsuna having a major break-out, and yada yada yada).

Takeshi looked at her curiously. "Why do you want to know?"

She opened her mouth, about to say "Nothing", but closed her lips in consideration. Takeshi didn't know much; all he knew was that Reborn was trying to form a band called Vongola Decimo, even though he struggled registering with that kind of information. He didn't know the depth of it like how she and Gokudera knew, but was compliant as to leave things at that if they weren't willing to tell him yet.

He had been helpful. Kind. Generous. Patient. Heck, he didn't pressure her into answers after he went _ten years_ into the future! It'd be fair to not leave him in the dark after what he's been through. So Tsuna told him, "Rokudo Mukuro is wanted to be the bass player for the band."

Takeshi reeled back in surprise. "Are you serious?"

She nodded. "Reborn said that Viper found Rokudo to be promising, so I was assigned to recruit him. But, well, I don't think I want to do this by myself. I'm scared, actually."

"Anyone would be, after hearing what that guy's done."

"Exactly." She sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "What am I going to do?"

"I'll go with you," Takeshi said.

"Don't be silly. You don't have to."

"But I want to."

"Takeshi…"

"Tsuna, I'm going with you. I'm not going to leave you alone on this," he said firmly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Trust me."

She sighed again. "It'd be too troublesome to try to convince you otherwise, you stubborn jerk."

He grinned. "That's the spirit!"

Takeshi took off the gig-bag that had his guitar in and handed it to Tsuna to wear. He then put on his helmet and put on Tsuna's for her. She always dreaded looking at the motorcycle, but it wasn't as if there was anything that she could do. Whatever.

Colonnello, Reborn, and Skull were waiting in Tsuna's home where they usually do. They didn't really have an official assemble, and it didn't really bother her that they gathered in her living room. Just so they _don't_ go sneaking in her bedroom, then all would be fine.

Takeshi took out his blue electric guitar and went with Colonnello to one corner. By the time Hibari arrived, Skull began explaining the nuts and bolts of the Vongola Decimo that he didn't get the chance to. Reborn was vigorously typing something on his laptop.

And what did Tsuna do?

Try to distract Lambo from getting in the way. Fuuta was no trouble at all, seeing how all he did was read, read, read.

"Lambo, stop that," Tsuna chided. "You know I hate it when you stick my pencils in your nose!"

Lambo chucked the pencil down and frowned. "I'm booored!" he whined. "When's Ryohei gonna show up?"

"I dunno. Soon. Whatever," she grumbled. "Now, be quiet. I'm trying to do my homework."

"But I'm _booored_, Tsuna!"

'I am the worst babysitter in the universe,' Tsuna decided as she hoisted Lambo under her arm and pulled the drapes down. She went outside and tied Lambo to a tree.

"Did you just tie Lambo to a tree?" Takeshi blurted when she returned, eyeing her in bafflement.

"I was tired of getting migraines," she admitted, shrugging.

* * *

"Attention, everyone!" Skull exclaimed, standing tall on the coffee table. "I need your eyes on me, please."

"You're going to break the table, kora," Colonnello pointed out.

"No I'm not."

"Yeah, you are. You and your massive weight will put a crack on it," Reborn said.

"Fine!" Skull scowled and hopped off the table. "Satisfied?"

"Herbivore," Hibari growled, causing Skull to jump in fright.

"Alright, alright!" He cleared his throat and continued on. "Today, I announce our newest singer: Hibari Kyoya!"

Silence.

"Wh-what?" Tsuna croaked.

* * *

Everyone left when practice was over. Reborn told her that he had business to carry out, so it was just her and Fuuta, who had said to her "Voy a la cama" before retiring to his room. The language barrier made her a little worried, but, so far, there hadn't been so much of an issue overall. Fuuta was a smart kid; he'd know how to get around.

Thirty minutes later, Ryohei returned home, appearing weary and frazzled. Tucked in his arms was Lambo wrapped in drapes. "Why was he tied to a tree?" Ryohei inquired, his voice lacking his typical verve.

"Tsuna tied me up!" Lambo screamed.

"I tied him up," Tsuna confessed.

Ryohei's brows furrowed. "Right." Setting the child down, which Lambo took the opportunity to scurry away and deliver a kick to Tsuna's shin ("Ow!"), Ryohei sank down into the couch and groaned loudly, rubbing his temple.

'The little monster…' Tsuna sent the retreating Lambo a glare before diverting her attention back to the older boy. She frowned. "Why'd come back so late?"

"…" He didn't answer. His eyes were trained onto the ceiling, lips pressed into a thin line. It looked like he was mulling over about something. Tsuna, not wanting to disrupt the boy, headed to the kitchen to prepare herself dinner. Nana was coming home late because she was visiting a friend.

Then, suddenly, Ryohei broke the silence, saying, "That Reborn guy knows everything, right?"

She jolted a bit, not expecting him to say anything. She fixed him a wary glance, and then replied cautiously, "Just about. Why?"

He didn't answer again. Instead, he continued on. "He must have told you about my life story."

A wave of guilt hit her. It wasn't much so that Reborn had told her, but rather it was Gokudera. But, Reborn or Gokudera, what did it matter? She knew about him without his warrant. She invaded his personal life, knew things that he probably didn't want anyone to know. "I know…things about you."

"Like?"

"Like how you were held back in third grade," she said softly.

"And?"

"Your grades are somewhat poor and you fall asleep in class because you take part-time jobs." She paused. "Kyoko-san, your sister, has weak health, and you've been committing your time and effort paying the hospital. You're an orphan. I can go on, but…"

Ryohei sighed, his shoulders slumping over. "When I was done with the boxing club for the day, I didn't know what to do. I remembered the way back to here, but it didn't feel right to not do anything else. I felt as though I had too much free time. It was…weird. Extremely weird. I went to the hospital to visit Kyoko then."

Tsuna closed the fridge and looked over to Ryohei. "And then?"

"And then I walked around. Nana-san said that I no longer had to continue to work because she would provide the income, but it didn't feel right to me. Still, I didn't want to transgress her wishes, so went to tell my bosses that I was quitting. I still had too much time, so I went for a run, and then came back here." He brought a pillow to his chest and gave it a tight hug. "I don't know what to do. Everything doesn't feel right, somehow."

'His dilemma is revolving around having too much time? If I was in his position, I'd be procrastinating to my heart's content.' Tsuna set her plate into the microwave as she contemplated. The reason why he refused to join the band was because he was too busy. He also said that he wasn't musically-inclined, but that was what Takeshi had said as well, and look at him now!

'Maybe I can seize this opportunity.'

"Ryohei," she said, "I think I have an answer to your problem."

* * *

**AN:** Tsuna's undergone change due to stress!

_Also_, here's a preview of the next chapter…or the chapter after that. I don't know.

**PREVIEW**

"_But, rather, I think I'll enter the competition with my subordinates just to spite the Arcobaleno."_

"_Wait, what?"_

"_And to further the spite, I shall win the competition and use the money to build my monument as a manifestation of the Vongola Decimo's failure."_


	21. Interlude 2

**AN:** This is another interlude. I considered posting this as an individual fic, but decided against it. Anyway, this was inspired by an Avengers fic. Forgot what it was called; I just read the summary.

* * *

**SUMMARY:** In a world where the name of your soul-mate is written on your wrist. For Giotto, his wrist had been blank for the twenty-eight years of his life until he finds himself awake four-hundred years into the future… FEM27G

* * *

When he was six-years-old, Giotto wondered why his wrist was blank while the children in his school had names on theirs. Sometimes, he felt excluded, alienated that there was no weight of the name of his soul-mate inscribed onto his skin. Why was he so different?

His mother would gather him in her arms and gently rock him until his eyes would grow laden with sleep. The soft words she would utter in his hair brought him comfort, and he would find his heavy grieving chest lighter as he would take these assurances to heart.

"Everyone has someone else out there," she would say. "Your soul-mate just isn't out in the world yet."

When she would tuck him in bed, Giotto would vaguely consider this. Out in the world? What did his mother mean by that? Could it be that his soul-mate did not make her existence yet? In the end, it wouldn't matter because he would fall asleep.

XOXOXOX

When he was ten-years-old, the name on his mother's wrist had vanished. Giotto didn't utter a word as he watched his mother stare blankly at her empty wrist.

"Mama?" he asked one day, tentatively approaching the withered woman.

She looked down at him, and smiled, but it came across as blatantly forced. "Oh, baby," she sighed, and then brought him close for a hug. "Everything will be alright. Don't you worry."

At nights, he pretended that the wails resounding through the walls were nothing more than a dying cat.

XOXOXOX

When he was fifteen-years-old, his mother died from a loose gunshot. The bullet belonged to the Rimonia Familgia, one of the most notorious mafia in all Italy.

Giotto swore on revenge.

XOXOXOX

Meeting G came as an accident.

Giotto was a brooding and dark young man who was travelling on his own, jaded by the death of his mother, the thirst for retribution against the Rimonia Familgia, and the newly acquired information about Blanks.

He had a blank wrist, so he was called a Blank.

Being a Blank entailed that he was fated to be alone forever, his soul-mate has yet to be born, or that his soul-mate had already died. Giotto tried to maintain an optimistic outlook by thinking that his soul-mate was just meant to be years younger than him, but it was hard to.

Wanting to relieve of his anguish, Giotto stumbled upon a bar where he drank and drank and drank until his cheeks were flushed red and a drunken grin wormed its way on his face. He could barely stand properly on his two feet. In his inebriated stupor, Giotto spouted nonsensical things to the person next to him, who responded in equal absurdity.

In the next morning, Giotto woke up to a pounding headache. He also found himself in a bed with another man. He quickly pulled the covers, and sighed in relief to see that he was fully clothed.

After freshening up and guzzling down cold water, the two faced each other. On Giotto's account, he felt rather awkward being around the man that he had been slumbering with (in an unknown room, for that matter). The other, however, was assessing him with a speculative look.

"I'm G," the man, a bucolic redhead with a peculiar tattoo on his face, finally introduced. When he stuck out his hand, Giotto was surprised to note that his wrist was blank. "Nice to meetcha, partner."

Giotto raised an eyebrow, but accepted the handshake nonetheless. "Partner?" he prompted.

G offered a lazy smile. "Well, since you weren't sober enough to remember yesterday, you did announce that you had a bone to pick with the Rimonia Familgia, yeah?"

"And just what else did I say?" Giotto said, narrowing his eyes.

"You asked if there were any volunteers to join your epic adventure of self-discovery, reverence, fulfillment, and to eradicate the Rimonia Familgia." His smile turned to a shit-eating grin. "I joined for the eradication."

It was a start of a beautiful friendship.

XOXOXOX

G, Giotto had learned, was the same age as him who had met several difficulties in life.

One of them was having his soul-mate killed by the Rimonia Familgia.

G didn't like talking much about his girl, too downtrodden by her death and wished not to be reminded of her. Giotto accepted the other to be the bigger man, ashamed that he used to believe that he had the world turned against him just because his wrist remained blank while G had his soul-mate taken away from him right before his eyes.

It was harder to deal with the loss of a soul-mate than never meeting her, Giotto had learned.

"Will you ever have another name on your wrist?" he inquired curiously.

G turned around and gave him a long appraising look. Giotto stared back. "No," G sighed, fishing in his pocket for a box of cigarettes. "There's only one person for you in this damned world. Once you find her, you wouldn't want anyone else."

"Wish I could say the same," Giotto said, a self-depreciating smile across his face.

The redhead inhaled his stick before replying, "Don't be like that, horse-face. Your girl will come. Maybe when you're thirty or something."

The other man swiveled, squawking. "That'd be cradle-robbing, G!"

He shrugged. "There were men of fifty years who's married their twenty-year-old wives."

"Ugh. No."

The two shared a moment of silence. Giotto stared absently at the wide stretch of conurbation Italy on the balcony of a hostel. The night was quiet save for the dog barking in the alley across the street. A cat probably grabbed its attention or something.

"G, what if we could change the world?" Giotto said, breaking the silence. "A world where people wouldn't discriminate against Blanks?"

"Oh?"

There were several disadvantages of being a Blank. People tended to look at a Blank and frown in disgust. It wasn't a Blank's fault that he or she wasn't meant to possess a soul-mate, but that fact didn't quite put an end to the common judgment that went around. Someone with an empty wrist. Skin that wasn't embellished with a name.

It wasn't unheard of for a Blank to marry other Blanks, but there was that incompleteness still. Giotto had always been a Blank, so he didn't understand the weight of having a name. G tried to explain it the best way he could. Ever since the name on his wrist had been wiped away, he felt irreconcilable to nature, an oddity amongst men. He felt an emptiness that he desperately wanted to fill up. But how could he when his soul-mate was dead?

G explained that he first encountered his soul-mate, he had a sensation of belonging. He and she were a puzzle of two, pieced together to make it complete. It was just right. It was just perfect. She was the one for him and he was the one for her. Giotto wished he could share his sympathies, but jealously churned in his stomach. Giotto had no one.

This was perhaps why Blanks were looked down upon society. They were deficient people.

Fueled by the thought of a revolutionized era where Blanks would no longer have to be weighed by this additional adversity, Giotto continued on. "An uprising where Blanks and those with soul-mates could live in harmony. Blanks already have it hard enough, so we should do something to relieve them of such!"

G frowned. "A rebellion is what you're asking for?"

"No! Mutiny is what the Rimonia Familgia does. I'm talking about novelty here! An innovation, a change!" Giotto grinned, excitement causing his cheeks flushed. "Create a massive influence and get the public's attention. We should recruit others to help—both Blanks and those with soul-mates to work together to get our point across."

G rolled his eyes, though his lips were upturned in amusement from his partner's burst of energy. "We should make a family of our own," he joked offhandedly. "Centered on helping people rather than threatening civilians for money."

The two froze.

"G," Giotto said slowly, "that's genius."

"I always have something up my sleeve," G agreed.

XOXOXOX

When he was eighteen-years-old, Giotto had gathered his family, established alliances, and made a name for himself. Vongola Familgia was what they were called.

They were still a small mafia, not widely known but not unknown either.

So far, Giotto and G had Ugetsu Asari, a travelling foreigner, to join their family. Initially, Ugetsu had rubbed G the wrong way for mistaking him as a Giotto's servant, much to Giotto's amusement, and then proceeded to act unabashed and cheerful, unintentionally causing the redhead to bristle in irritation. However, after learning about the Japanese man's lost beloved, thus turning him into a Blank, G begrudgingly accepted the man.

Knuckle was later acquired. He was a priest with a violent history. Strangely, he had chosen celibacy despite the name on his wrist. "The path that I had chosen would not be suitable for my soul-mate," the priest had told them. Giotto was torn whether feeling rage for his soul-mate's part—she could be waiting for him _all these years_—or sympathy. It was true—being in the mafia was dangerous, not days to spend for tender lives.

Lampo was the last one to join. As the son of the Lord of the Land, Lampo filled out the stereotypical demanding and pampered brat. The only reason why he was to be recruited was due to his monetary ties. In order for the Vongola Familgia to rise to power, financial aid was vital. Knuckle was the one who helped Giotto convince the boy into joining. They got him to join if they helped him find his soul-mate, someone born in Ugetsu's homeland.

"So," Lampo began when he stepped into the room, surveying the occupants. "Who's the leader?"

"Giotto," G said.

Giotto sent the man a wide-eyed look. "But I thought you were the leader!"

"Are you crazy? I don't have the leadership skills that you have. I'll settle in for second-rate, the right-hand man, since you can't do anything well without me."

"Aha, it would be interesting to have you as leader, anyhow, G-san," laughed Ugetsu.

"Watch it, Asari," growled G. His fingers twitched for his guns that were strapped at his hips.

Giotto knew that there would be more joining his family, but, for now, these men were enough.

His wrist remained blank, however.

XOXOXOX

"Oh, she's gorgeous," drooled G.

"G, stop ogling the rifle," snorted Giotto.

There were times where Giotto wondered if it was possible for a man to have a weapon as a soul-mate. When he told Knuckle about this, the other man smiled by the thought of it, obviously well-humored.

"If only God permits it," Knuckle chuckled.

XOXOXOX

When he was twenty-one-years-old, Giotto and G met a boy named Ricardo.

Giotto quipped about making him the Vongola Secondo, not knowing that eight years later Ricardo really will take up the position.

XOXOXOX

"Maybe she'll come by the time you hit the age thirty," G said.

"That was the age difference my grandparents were when they made their encounter," Ugetsu said.

Giotto sighed. "You two. Shut up."

XOXOXOX

When Ugetsu and Lampo returned from Japan, they came back with a lovely Japanese girl. She was quite exotic: her long black hair, almond-shaped eyes, and small frame. Lampo and Sunako, the girl, couldn't stop shooting each other affectionate gazes. Everyone found it humorous that Ugestu had to translate their amorous messages due to the language barrier.

"Daemon and I were like that when we first met," Elena, Daemon Spade's soul-mate, commented, an amused smile embracing her lips.

"How long will they be like this?" Giotto wondered.

"Depends. Lampo is the type who starves attention, yes?"

"Yes."

"Then a couple months."

G groaned next to Giotto. "It's been an hour and I've gone sick to my stomach already."

XOXOXOX

When he was twenty-two-years-old, Giotto learned that Elena was killed.

The skies were gray that day.

XOXOXOX

Alaude would sometimes remind Giotto as to why he had joined the Vongola Familgia.

To eradicate the Rimonia Familgia.

Occasionally, Giotto wished to forget about his old drive and stick with his new one: Creating a new future.

XOXOXOX

When he was twenty-four-years-old, Giotto had waged war against the Rimonia Familgia. He had won. The Vongola Familgia had officially risen to the top.

The Blanks were still discriminated.

"There's nothing that we can do," G said. "You can't erase histories of bigotry with a single liberal idea. Even with a position as big as yours, it's hard to move people with personal concepts."

"I don't understand," Giotto growled, running his fingers through his hair. "Everyone knows that I'm a Blank, so why—"

"Correction: Everyone thinks that you used to have a soul-mate. Sure, they caught an eyeful of your blank wrist, but nothing prevents the people from fabricating stories of their own." G sucked in his cigarette and exhaled a gust of smoke in contentment. "They think that your girl was killed and that you valiantly sought out revenge in her honor. Did it stir up sympathy for those who turned into Blanks? Yes. But for those who were born as Blanks? No."

The Vongola Primo drew a ragged sigh. "And to think that all this time and effort was for nothing."

"Not really. You still managed to help the people, even if you had the aid from this misfit group, and I'm making an emphasis on that for Spade's account. You also got rid of the mafia that had terrorized your homeland for the past fifty years."

"And had killed your girl," Giotto added in a whisper.

G shrugged. "That was ten years ago. It still hurts, but I moved on. I have you freaks to deal with now."

Giotto couldn't help but laugh at that one. "That's true."

"Besides," his right-hand man said, a smirk stretching across his face, "we got six more years to see who your soul-mate is, and that's something to look forward to."

"What? You still on that?"

"Ugestu, Knuckle, and Lampo too. I swear I've even witness Alaude and Spade _interact_, betting that it'd take you till forty in order for your girl to be born."

Giotto, who had already become used to his men teasing him about him finding his soul-mate by the time he's thirty (and he prayed to God that he wouldn't because thirty sounded like an awfully big age gap), snorted and shook his head. "You guys are going to kill me."

"We'll do that after the name shows up. Hey, you think she'd be Japanese, like Sunako?"

He personally believed that he was fated to be alone forever, but didn't want to put a damper on the jovial atmosphere. Giotto lifted one shoulder and dropped it. "I hope not; I prefer without the language barrier, thank you very much."

"Why not? Not in for those nifty Oriental characters on your wrist?"

"Nah. I'm more of good ol' fashion Italiana, you know?"

G grinned. "Yeah, my girl was one. I was one lucky kid since she and I grew up together in the same village."

G rarely talked about his soul-mate. Giotto remained quiet as his friend continued to talk about her.

"Nothing much was known about our parents except for the fact that they either ditched us or died," G continued, a tinge of wistfulness in his voice. "Didn't really matter to us since we were raised by a nice folk in an orphanage. My girl and I were inseparable, even for the fact that we didn't understand the meaning of the names on our wrists at the time. When I was ten, I realized that she was the most beautiful living being my eyes had ever set upon, and that when I would be old enough to get out of the orphanage I'd ask her to marry me.

"Soul-mates see their destined as easy on the eyes, always, but I'm not being biased when I say my girl was stunning. She had these big green eyes and the softest fair hair ever. Oh, and her personality was good too; she owned the biggest heart and gentlest soul. Heck, it pained her to stomp on the roaches in the orphanage, so she'd leave a trail of crumbs out the door."

"What was her name?" Giotto asked in a soft voice.

G didn't answer for a moment. His eyes surveyed the night sky and stars, as if prying for a distraction. There were times when G wouldn't make a reply for the longest time because some answers were hard to bring up. And though Giotto wasn't standing right before him, he could sense the despondency coming from him in waves.

Finally, he spoke in a simple murmur. "Smeralda." G closed his eyes and sighed. "Her name was Smeralda."

XOXOXOX

When he was twenty-five-years-old, Giotto was feeling helpless for the first time.

"But whyyy?" Lampo whined.

"Lampo-san, please, understand," Sunako pleaded, her lower lip wobbling. "I-I miss my family."

"But I don't see why you have to leave me!"

"Then go with her, you dumbass," snapped G.

"But I don't want to go!"

"Lampo," Giotto said, finally intervening. He placed a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Sunako won't be gone forever, you know. She just misses Japan, her homeland. It's a big part of her, being raised there her whole life and such."

"Yeah, but…" Lampo trailed off, pouting childishly.

"Yes?" Giotto said patiently.

"But _whyyy_?"

For an adult, Lampo was incredibly ridiculous. Giotto silently applauded Sunako for putting up with the brat.

XOXOXOX

When he was twenty-seven-years-old, Giotto met Ricardo again.

No longer a boy, Ricardo had grown into a fine young man. Tall, strong, and released an aura of power, Ricardo presented himself impressively. It only startled Giotto when he said, "I had trained long and hard for this, sir, and now I think I am ready."

Giotto blinked. "Ready for what?"

Ricardo parroted his blink. "To become Vongola Secondo, of course."

"…Who are you again?"

Of course, just because Ricardo had remembered Giotto, the infamous Vongola Primo, doesn't mean that Giotto himself remembered him. He did meet the guy almost a decade ago, and kids hardly resembled themselves when entering adulthood.

Just to Giotto's luck, his trustworthy right-hand man smoothly intervened. There was a glimmer of amusement in his eyes, but Giotto decided to ignore it for now. "Ah, Ricardo, so glad to see you again! I'm sorry to say this but the boss is a bit inutile when he just lacked ten hours of sleep just doing paperwork," the redhead said, slapping the younger man's back amicably.

"Bwuah?" Giotto said. Well, it was partially true; the paperwork was time-consuming and exhausting, but it wasn't as though he lost that much sleep and could hardly think straight.

Ricardo nodded, seriousness in his expression. "Ah, yes. I understand very well."

A couple days later, Giotto found himself in a party, an initiation for Ricardo to join the Vongola Familgia. He found himself standing before a kneeling Ricardo, wielding a golden scepter, and his shoulders heavy from supporting a fur cape. In all whatever weirdness, Giotto just shrugged and anointed Ricardo as the Vongola Secondo.

XOXOXOX

Ricardo had met his deadline in his usual impeccable timing. He had just returned from retrieving his family, along with his fiancée.

"Giotto, sir, I would like you to meet my beloved, Alina," Ricardo said, wrapping an arm around the woman standing beside him.

It was a strange contrast, in Giotto's opinion. Alina was a short and stout woman with a plain face; she appeared even plainer when next to Ricardo's handsome and regal features. However, judging from the shy smile Alina was wearing and the deeply proud look that Ricardo was giving his fiancée, Giotto decided that it wouldn't be strange at all.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Alina," Giotto said politely, offering a hand. He hid a smirk when Alina blushed when he kissed the back of her fingers. Adding to his amusement, Ricardo's face instantly darkened into a jealous frown; the Secondo always took thing way too seriously.

"Pl-please," she said, "call me Alina."

"Please don't," Ricardo growled possessively.

When Giotto encountered Ricardo's guardians, his aunt and uncle, he learned that they were both Blanks.

"I undergone erudition of philosophy," the uncle said, "and on my way to meet a professor that my teacher had recommended talking to, I met my wife."

"My first husband died from pneumonia, and I lived ten years as a widow. I worked as Mr. Rossi's maid, the professor, at the time, so I got to know about Ricardo's uncle," the aunt said. "Eventually, we fell in love."

But it was an incomplete love. It was biologically and psychologically incomplete. The uncle wouldn't know because he never experienced the intense sentimentality of possessing the _perfect someone—_the someone who was made _just for him_. To the aunt, he would be nothing more than a substitute.

The aunt could never reciprocate her husband's genuine love for her even if she wanted to, not when that love was knotted so tightly to her deceased soul-mate. But that was okay, because even though she didn't love the uncle as much as her soul-mate, she was in love with him and would rather carry on the rest of her years with him.

Giotto found it so sad and so beautiful.

He wished that he could have that special someone in this word.

XOXOXOX

"Ya know, I take back what I said," G said. The cigarette danced from one corner of his lip to the other. He watched absently the children who were playing a game nearby the café they were sitting in.

"Hmm?" Giotto looked up curiously.

"This isn't a damned world after all."

"No, it isn't."

XOXOXOX

When he was twenty-eight-years-old, Giotto woke up blearily inside an unfamiliar room. There wasn't a pounding headache, and his body felt oddly weighed. He drew his arm clumsily and threw back the covers, and relaxed to find that he was clothed.

Then did a double-take to find that he was wearing really strange clothes.

"You've been sent four-hundred years into the future and inspecting your pajamas is the first thing you do," chuckled a deep voice. Giotto automatically leapt to his feet and adopted a stance, his attention pinned on the man hiding in the shadows.

"Where am I?" he demanded, his voice rusty from underuse. How long was he asleep?"Who are you?"

The man took a few steps forward and allowed the lights filtering through the windows to wash over him. A tall man dressed in black, had curly sideburns and cufflinks. "My name is Reborn," he spoke, amusement still in his voice much to Giotto's chagrin, "and, as I said before, you are four-hundred years in the future."

Giotto narrowed his eyes. "Lies," he scoffed. "Tell me the truth. Where am I?"

Reborn sighed. "The Vongola Mansion, unless you don't believe that either."

"Another lie! How dare you speak lies to me of my home!" A flame ignited on his head, flaring at an equal tempo to the growing anger pulsating in his veins. "Where am I? Where is my family? Speak!" He raised his arm at Reborn's chest, a hot glow lighting at the palm of his hand.

Instead of being intimidated, Reborn merely raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. Able to conjure the Hyper-Flame without the gloves."

"Reborn, that's enough." The doors swung open. Walking inside the room was another man. His hair grayed with age, yet his eyes twinkled with a youthful excitement that Giotto was fond in seeing in children. He approached Giotto and performed a respectful bow. "Vongola Primo, it is an honor to meet you."

Giotto was unfazed. "I believe that you owe me an explanation," he said, tone clipped.

"Yes, yes, of course. But allow me to introduce myself." He stood upright, smiling kindly. "My name is Timoteo, the Vongola Nono."

The man stiffened, and then grounded his teeth in frustration. "Why do you continue to make more fibs? I'm tired of playing this game!" Giotto snarled, his flame intensifying. "I want the truth! Now!"

The elder remained composed despite the underlying threat. "Yes, all will be explained, Primo, but that will only happen if you calm yourself."

After scrutinizing the two men before him, Giotto reluctantly lowered his arm and snuffed out his flame. "Alright," he said, "talk."

XOXOXOX

Four-hundred years ago, the infamous Vongola Primo had mysteriously vanished in a puff of smoke in the middle of a meeting. The only indication of his whereabouts was a bolt that had took his place in his seat. That bolt was, in fact, a piece of Giovanni's time-travelling machine that had met an electrical implosion when two wires met. There, lying unconscious and covered in soot, was the man who had created history.

A four-hundred-year-old myth…finally answered. This had reached the point of incredibility, news stretching throughout the world of mafia. Something so utterly grand had to be kept indoors, hidden away from the public's eye for Giotto's own stability.

G, Ugetsu, Knuckle, Lampo, Alaude, Daemon… Everyone was gone.

Giotto had never felt so alone.

The people there revealed parts of the progressing timeline to him slowly, for him to become adjusted to the change. Everything was so different from four-hundred years ago that it was all too much for him to take in. Sometimes, his tutors would excuse themselves to let him soak in the information.

There were times when Giotto considered asking them to construct another time-travelling machine for him to return to his own time-frame. He didn't belong to this strange future filled with bewildering technology and culture. He wanted to go back to his past where things made sense to him, where everything was _his_ _home_.

However, one thing stopped him from doing so.

There was a name on his wrist.

A name. On his wrist.

The characters on his wrist were Oriental—Japanese, he hazarded. They were imprinted in blocky letterings, unlike Lampo's intricate and smooth name. He even had Reborn, a hitman who Timoteo would entrust his life to, as he had implied, translate them for him.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," Reborn said. He smiled enigmatically. "How intriguing."

"Why is that?" Giotto wondered. "Interracial marriage is now common this day and age, yes?"

"Yes, but that isn't the reason why it makes it so intriguing."

"Then what?" His brows furrowed as his lips were set into a small frown. It wouldn't happen to be the language barrier, would it? That could be overcome; Giotto was a fast learner, and he picked up a couple phrases from Ugetsu.

Reborn, who had been sitting down across from him, crossed his legs and tilted his head, lifting the edges of the fedora to reveal his dark eyes."Your soul-mate is the Vongola Decimo."

XOXOXOX

Giotto had been housed inside the Vongola Mansion for about a year now. He gradually accepted that he would have to continue his years in this time-frame even without his friends. Soon enough, he made his official retirement and became a tenant along with Timoteo, a man who he had grown quite content of indulging in tête-à-têtes. The old man was nothing like G, but he certainly was engaging like his deceased partner.

Giotto had learned to enjoy the many aspects of the future. There seemed to be a preemptive authorization in different families that consisted of stabilizing foundations that separated mafia affairs with the daily people. This development over time made it so that the mafia lived in an alternate side of life.

Giotto didn't know about the prejudice against Blanks, however. He had asked about it, but all the answers he received were the same—"It's of no importance." Perhaps G was right. The opinion when meeting a Blank would depend on the person; it was a personal concept, not something that could be changed or moved.

He wondered if his soul-mate, Tsunayoshi, had a low opinion about Blanks. He hoped not. He hoped that she would be a pleasant girl, woman, whatever—who knows how long he could have kept her waiting. It didn't matter how old she was, anyway; the thought about having a soul-mate of his own made him absolutely giddy.

Yes, he had lost everything he loved, but Tsunayoshi was the only motivation of living he had.

Reborn used to be her tutor, so it was never an uncommon sight to have Giotto demanding the man to tell him stories about Tsunayoshi. Reborn would occupy a loveseat by the window while Giotto would sit across from him on the couch, his bright eyes gleaming in curiosity.

"Dame-Tsuna is a clumsy, idiotic, whiny loser," Reborn would say with heavy fondness. Sometimes, Giotto would catch him slip a genuine smile. "She has messy hair that she doesn't bother brushing because she doesn't see the point. Dame-Tsuna has low self-esteem, just so you know."

Underlying those jabs, Reborn had told him that Tsunayoshi was a brave and strong leader. Though she may not be astute or competent in some areas, she made it up for her unwavering kindness and her strong love for her family and friends. There were times when she would consider giving up, but, in the end, she would be seen standing tall in victory.

"She lives with her mother and is in college. She's never academically smart, so she occasionally messages me for help. It's kind of sad, really; Dame-Tsuna even asked help from Fuuta, who's in high school, but, then again, the kid's always been a major brainiac."

Tsunayoshi was unperfect, which was perfect in Giotto's eyes.

He wondered when he could meet her.

XOXOXOX

When he was twenty-nine-years-old, Giotto was on his way to the kitchen to grab a snack. Just when he was about to make a turn, he collided into someone. Or, rather, he bulldozed her down with his superior height.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, bending low to help the girl up. "Are you okay?"

"E-eh?" Her voice was awkward, accented. He immediately recognized the lilt before transitioning from Italian to Japanese. "Are you okay?" he tried again.

"O-oh. Yes, I'm fine." Tilting her head up, the girl looked as though she was about to thank him from helping her up. However, when their eyes met for the first time, something clicked. The feeling was indescribable, heavy, bewildering, and yet it made sense.

A scream was clogged in Giotto's throat as his eyes hungrily drank up the sight of the girl before him. To others, she would appear as a short, scrawny, and average girl with messy hair, but to Giotto, she was _beyond_ gorgeous. She had pale skin, and chocolate locks to frame her round face. A fringe sat between her wide eyes, and he couldn't tear his eyes from her petal pink lips.

And there, on her wrist, was his name.

His name. On her wrist.

As if having a mind of its own, his hand captured the wrist while the other hand ghosted above the name. The tip of his finger barely traced the elegant cursive imprinted on the creamy sheet of skin. He was tempted to run his nose across her wrist, to her arm, all the way up to her hair where he could inhale her scent. Just quench in her very presence.

_Mine_, he thought. _Mine mine mine mineminemine_.

"I…" the girl—Tsunayoshi—breathed out. "I mean…" She swallowed thickly. "Hi."

Giotto choked out. He wanted to laugh, laugh long and hard. After all these years of being a Blank and one year of wondering who Tsunayoshi was, this was what he hears from his soul-mate. They crashed into one another and she says a simple hello.

Suddenly, Giotto was faced with a torrent of nervousness. The urge to pull back and curl himself into a ball was strong—_what if she was disappointed that it had been him?_—but also very easy to resist. Why didn't anyone mention that she would be coming? If he was told prior to her visit, then he would have prepared himself in meeting his soul-mate.

But it didn't matter, not now. Tsunayoshi—no, _Tsuna_ was here, right before him, right in his presence. And everything felt right.

Giotto smiled and gathered the girl in his arms, who blushed brightly. "Well, at least I met you before I turned thirty."


	22. Chapter 22

**AN:** So I read this fic where Tsuna's a girl and that everyone was harboring feelings for her. I thought, "The author made her a total Mary Sue!" after reading Tsuna going all, "Oh, how can I possibly choose any of them? Sob. Weep. I love them all!" and the boys going, "Tsuna-chan's the best! She's so adorable and kind and caring and whatnot!" I convulsed, and sought to make my Tsuna so imperfect that even I started questioning how my fic could have any romance for her.

* * *

"Let's see… I've done Hibari-sempai and Ryohei," Tsuna listed, counting off with her fingers, "and I don't think I used that free question after recruiting Takeshi."

"Not that I remember, but I'll throw in a free one juts because I'm feeling generous," Reborn said, reclining in his seat. "Good job on getting Ryohei, by the way."

'I deserve some more credit, you jerk. You know how long it took me to convince that boy? Four hours! Four flippin' hours!' Tsuna griped inwardly. "Yeah, well…"

"We still need Rokudo Mukuro, however."

"I don't think that would be a good idea," Tsuna said warily. "I mean, Hibari-sempai is starting to adjust to Takeshi, and Ryohei's someone he's having a hard time with alone, but having Rokudo would be just asking for disaster. The Kokuyo students are waging war with the Namimori students, and the known leader if Rokudo himself."

The Italian idly drummed his fingers on the elbow-rest of the chair. "Interesting."

"No, Reborn, it's not interesting. Can't we just call this Viper person over and ask him to switch Belphegor as the bass player? That'd make life a whole lot easier."

"It would," he agreed coolly, smirking, "but it just wouldn't be fun, now would it?"

'Stupid Reborn. Stupid sadistic Reborn.' Tsuna exhaled. "We don't even know if Rokudo can even play the bass," she protested.

"Yamamoto didn't know how to play the guitar, and yet he's doing fine," came Reborn's smooth counterattack.

"Argh! Reborn, this is—HIIII!" Leon's tongue shot out of his mouth and stuck onto her forehead. "Gah! Leon!"

"Stop screaming, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn said. "You're making my ears hurt."

* * *

"So, I heard that Gokudera's coming back from the competition," Takeshi began conversationally, handing her a helmet.

Tsuna raised her eyebrows at the statement, noticing that there was a hint imbued, but chose to ignore it for now. "How come I hadn't heard about it? And since when did you?" she asked, taking the helmet and tucking it under her arm.

He shrugged, refusing to meet her eyes. "Heard it from Colonnello. I just wanted to see if you knew too."

'Apparently not.' How come that even when they got to know each other for a month, Colonnello and Takeshi already seemed to be the bestest of buddies? In contrast, Reborn and Tsuna knew each other too long for her liking, and yet he hardly gave her the heads-up unless he was in his "generous" mood. She doubted that Colonnello wouldn't give her the gratification too, being Dame-Tsuna and all.

"Yeah, well, Reborn doesn't bother giving me the details," she said, shrugging. Tsuna turned and rested her hip against the motorcycle. "I guess you're happy about Gokudera returning to Japan, huh?" She didn't bother concealing a grumble in her tone.

Takeshi sighed. "Stop it, Tsuna."

She blinked. "Stop what?"

"Stop being—stop acting as if Gokudera's someone terrible to be around with!" Tsuna's eyes went wide as saucers. Never had she heard Takeshi snap at her like that. He went on, the words rolling off his tongue. "Gokudera isn't as awful as you picture him to be, Tsuna. Haven't you seen how he always tried to be your friend? And yet you always push him away! I don't get that—you managed to be friends with me, and yet you don't even seem to care that he's the one who…"

Takeshi trailed off. His shoulders went slump as weariness clouded his face. Tsuna hadn't even noticed that her body recoiled in shock. Regaining a bit of composure and pushing away the panicked despair that clawed in her throat, in fear that she would break into tears—_she couldn't lose her precious friend, she just couldn't_—she said in a small voice, "He's the one who what?"

"When…you were taken to the hospital, Gokudera was absolutely furious at me for—for getting you hurt." The sports prodigy sighed. "You should have seen his face. When—when he saw your body—I thought he was going to have a breakdown or something."

"_Befriend him."_ The words the future Takeshi had chanted in her ear. Tsuna had thought about it, truly thinking that perhaps she should give Gokudera a chance, but when standing there with him before her, the wish that man had placed on her shoulders flew out of the window. It wasn't that simple. It wasn't that simple at all.

For Tsuna, such things couldn't come in a small gift-wrapped box, just waiting for her to unwrap it. Yamamoto Takeshi was, well, an exception, but Gokudera shouldn't be an excuse. She always had an unsettling churning in her stomach whenever things appeared to be too easy for her, like when she fell into an easy conversation with Kyoko and Hana. In the back of her mind, she knew that a merry moment in her life would die quickly, and it did.

'I just don't want to lose something, even if I never had it in the first place.' So she was purposefully distancing herself. So she was trying to shield herself from any possible abandonment. But if the Takeshi from ten years requested that she would befriend Gokudera, then a bright future would be ahead of them, yes? Why would Takeshi spin her a lie, especially when he said it with passionate eyes? When he and Gokudera, and even Lambo for that matter, still knew her a decade later?

However, again, it wasn't that simple. Looking back, Tsuna had subconsciously saved Gokudera from being run over by a truck. He learned that she was affiliated with Reborn of the Arcobaleno. She somehow reminded him of his deceased mother. And he aggravated her. He aggravated her so much.

Tsuna hated that he was impetuous, ill-mannered, and scary. She hated that he breathed in a cancer-stick every single day, and hated how he dressed like he was out looking for trouble. She hated his self-assured ways, never the one to hesitate on sneering his teachers and classmates. Heck, she hated how he happened to be so popular when he was so horrible!

And yet… And yet he was intelligent. He was surprisingly intelligent, scoring 100's on every test they took. He was also a dedicated worker, and could gather useful information. He was strong and brave—recklessly brave, she mused, but brave nevertheless. He also wasn't the kind of guy who would surrender so easily, wasn't he? And his eyes, his green, green eyes…

"It doesn't seem right though," she whispered, shaking away from such thoughts. She wouldn't allow herself to stray away. She couldn't. "Gokudera—Gokudera doesn't really want to be my friend or anything. He told me that I just happened to remind him of his mother. That…" She paused, biting her lip. "That can't be right. He never noticed me before. That can't be right."

"Tsuna."

"No. It's probably some kind of obligation, a debt that he feels as though he needs to fulfill. It was never about the friendship, it was about repaying for saving his life," she rambled, unable to stop. "I pushed him out of the way from being hit by a truck, and now he thinks that he could—"

"Don't you remember what my future self had told you?"

Tsuna's head turned so fast that she nearly gave herself a whiplash. "How do you know that?" she blurted, gripping the edge of the bike's seat to keep her from slipping.

Takeshi's expression looked pain, and that instant she remembered the faces of him, Gokudera, and Lambo when they returned to the present that day in the hospital. "Tsuna…"

"What happened?" Tsuna demanded, pushing herself from the motorcycle and stepping closer to the boy. "I know that you know you were sent to ten years into the future, and I know that it has something to do with me."

His brows furrowed. "Tsuna, this isn't—"

"You think that I haven't noticed, Takeshi?" Tsuna scoffed, her hand clenching tightly onto the fastening of the helmet. She was so tired of not knowing, which was ironic because she was keeping secrets of her own. "I may not be the smartest and most observant person around, but I'm not stupid. I've noticed the changes, Takeshi, and I _know_ that it has something to do with me."

The two stood in silence, and the tension between had grown uncomfortably stiff. Both enclosed to their own clandestine identities, obvious that they were blocked with heavy reluctance to confess. With this hindsight, Tsuna began to wonder just how they managed to still keep up with their friendship. Takeshi knew that Tsuna was keeping a secret, and Tsuna knew that Takeshi was keeping a secret. Just how did they manage when they wanted to know what was going on?

"In that case, will you tell me what was the cause of Sasagawa-sempai's apartment exploding?" Takeshi inquired softly.

Tsuna froze.

His dark eyes pinned on hers. "Or who exactly were those twin foreigners? What kind of correlation do you have with them? With Reborn? And who exactly is Reborn anyway?"

She swallowed thickly. "I—I can't tell you that."

"Is it can't or won't?" Takeshi challenged.

"Takeshi," she pleaded.

"Tsuna, I may seem like the unreliable guy when it comes to the serious business, but it's unfair for me to be left out in the dark," he sighed. "I just—you know that I'm here for you. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to abandon what I found to be important."

Heartfelt words coming from a fourteen-year-old. Tsuna swallowed again, feeling sick. "And what's that?"

He smiled, a bit sadly.

"Our friendship."

In the end, the two didn't share anything. They were late to band practice, so they needed to hurry. Takeshi drove himself and Tsuna to her house, neither speaking a word to one another even when the day was over. The sports prodigy managed to pull his usual grins and laughs while Tsuna kept to herself as she watched over the kids.

Reborn had quietly stared at her for a moment before returning his attention back to the soon-to-be drummer of the Vongola Decimo.

* * *

"Time's wasting, Dame-Tsuna," he says.

"You know you got to do it, Dame-Tsuna," he says.

"Vongola Decimo isn't going to be a hit without its bass player, Dame-Tsuna," he says.

"Hurry up and recruit Rokudo Mukuro,Dame-Tsuna," he says.

Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna. Dame-Tsuna.

Just the main reason why Tsuna was dragging her feet to Kokuyo Middle School; Reborn just had to shut up or she was going to lose it.

Tagging along her was a chipper Takeshi and a grousing Ryohei.

'Reborn's such a sadist, making us walk to a school that's on the edge of town. He just _had_ to confiscate our rights to any vehicles,' Tsuna thought, tugging the hood of her jacket over her eyes in defeated acceptance. It was raining. Screw it.

Technically, when you're fourteen, you weren't permitted to drive. Didn't seem to stop Takeshi, however. Maybe it had something to do with being famous, that you get to do whatever you liked.

Stealing a glance to her right, where Ryohei happened to be muttering incoherent sentences under his breath, Tsuna couldn't help wonder why he bothered joining in the first place. Perhaps some stupid pseudo-brotherly obligations or whatever.

And to her left, Takeshi acted as if the heated discussion they had the other day never existed. Fine. Tsuna could live with that, even though there was a bad feeling in her gut that reminded her of how terrible period cramps were, but, yeah, she could _so_ live with that.

The Tsuna's feet fall to a stop, her ears prickling from a low whirring sound that was coasting from behind. "D-do you hear that?"

The boys turned around and shot her curious looks. "Hear what?" Ryohei asked.

"That sound! Don't tell me that you don't hear it."

Takeshi shrugged. "Other than the rain, I hear nothing." Speaking of which, why didn't they think of bringing of an umbrella?

Tsuna opened her mouth to object, but then—_ZZSSHWAP_! A blur of yellow and blue flashed past them, a mad inundation of water tailed after, sending in a high wave crashing down onto the trio, soaking them literally to the bone. The sleek car then violently veered to a stop, causing another splash.

Now Tsuna began to wonder why they were travelling by the road for that matter. Where any car could just drive by and splash them, that is.

The window rolled down, revealing a grinning Bel. "Hop in!"

"B-Belphegor?" Tsuna sputtered incredulously. "What are you doing here?"

"Reborn sent me."

Of course he did.

"Wow, good timing too," Takeshi commented happily, not at all put off by how inconsistent Reborn was. The guy could ignore the troubling at any given situation. He shook his head like a dog, spraying rain droplets everywhere. "Thanks, man."

"Oi, oi, this is pretty extreme," Ryohei murmured, surveying the car with appreciation. "Aren't you too young to drive, though?"

"Not in Terrasanta," Bel countered with a smug smirk.

"But we aren't in Terrasanta," Tsuna sighed, shaking her head.

"Then it's a good thing that I'm not Japanese, no?"

Once everyone had wrenched their clothes as dry as they could and climbed aboard the car, Bel stomped his foot to the pedal and took off shockingly fast. In fact, he went so fast that while Tsuna was in the middle of buckling her seatbelt, the sudden velocity caused her head to smack backwards against the seat, her whole body digging deep into the cushions.

'Ghdmksld,' she thought during the ride.

When the car finally jerked to a halt, Takeshi took his time assessing where they were as he owlishly blinked. "Wow," he breathed. "If that was no PJ-3 model, then I don't know what is."

"Shishishi. Even better," Bel said, throwing a cocky grin at his way. "PJ-_4_."

"_Dude_. Seriously?"

Ryohei had a green tinge to his cheeks. "I'm—I'm going to be EXTREMELY sick," he helpfully informed his inmates.

"Not in my car, peasant."

* * *

Ever since the car ride, Tsuna abandoned the use of thinking straight (for now). She was so out of it, and yet she didn't know why. Perhaps her mind blew an unexpected fuse or something. Whatever.

'I don't think that schools are supposed to look like rundown carnivals,' Tsuna thought vaguely as they followed Bel detouring past the empty buildings and piles of rubble. The only visible speck of life that seemed to exist in these parts were the rats that scurried about, which didn't really give any indication that any presence would feel welcomed here. 'Some school.'

"Say, Bel was it? How do you know the way to Kokuyo Middle?" Takeshi inquired.

"This isn't where the school is," Bel replied. "I'm taking you to Rokudo Mukuro's whereabouts that Reborn had informed me of."

"Oh." The sports prodigy released a small laugh. "Reborn knows everything!"

"Of course!" Ryohei agreed enthusiastically. "He is my Master Pao Pao _and_ my drumming teacher. He is an EXTREME man! Maybe he even knows how to box! When I return, I am definitely going to challenge him to duel me."

Bel didn't add anything to that, his attention pinned straight ahead.

After a couple minutes of walking, the group finally ran into someone. A short middle-aged man with glasses and a fisherman hat stared back at them with a creepy smile and a glint in his narrow eyes. In addition to the strange vibe they were getting from him, he was wearing a school uniform.

"Isn't that a Kokuyo Middle uniform?" Takeshi whispered.

"Perhaps he was held back," Ryohei said in a not so much of a whisper. More like he croaked it out, but, hey, at least the big guy tried.

"I was not!" the geezer spat, his smile fell into a scowl. "And it is rude to talk about someone in such manner!"

"Sorry," the boys said in unison.

"Oi, aren't you cold, old man?" Ryohei questioned. "You're not wearing a jacket or anything."

A vein throbbed on the geezer's forehead. "I'm not old!" he protested. "I'm thirty-five! I'm still young! I'm hip!"

Takeshi and Ryohei traded looks. "Well, nice to meet you, sir," Takeshi said, using his most sincere voice that his etiquette instructor had taught him when he was ten, making sure he was having eye-contact with the man. "My name is Yamamoto, and this is Sasagawa."

"Yo," Ryohei said in a less refined manner.

"And this is Sawada. So, Sawada, how are you doing?"

"Just peachy," Tsuna said so dryly that the boys could almost see tumbleweeds rolling by.

"Peachy keen?" Takeshi pressed, smiling.

"I haven't really felt that way ever since my dad got me a goldfish."

"Oh?" he said, interested. "When was that?"

"Seven years ago."

Silence fell. Someone in the audience might as well scream out "Loser".

"And!" Takeshi chirped, bringing back fervor into full power, carrying on as if no awkward pause happened. It was literally blinding, seriously. "This is Belphegor."

Bel was not there.

"…Huh. Could've sworn he was here a minute ago."

The geezer stared intently at the three, as if making calculations as to how to get on with his life after dealing with such children. In any person's perspective, you would have a cheerful boy who seemed to be oblivious to the world, another cheerful boy who come across as plaintively dimwitted, and a griping girl with no hopes for the future (she might be able to pull off as a janitor or a cashier in life, but still hopeless).

He cleared his voice and put back on the creepy smile. "I'm Bird."

Takeshi smiled. "Hi, Bird-san! So, what are you doing here in these parts?"

Bird smiled back. "I've been assigned to eradicate your puny existence."

"Oh, okay, well, we better get going then," the sports prodigy chirped. He ushered the other two in the opposite direction. "Bye now!"

"Later, old man!" Ryohei added, waving vigorously.

The Bird chuckled to himself after watching them run as hell. "Oh, those silly, silly children." He dragged out a cage and unlocked the top, setting loose a wild swarm of small yellow birds to the sky. "Fly, my pretties! Fly and feast to your hearts content!" Bird cackled maniacally, his arms spread wide.

* * *

Somewhere along the way, Takeshi and Tsuna had lost Ryohei. They didn't really bother trying to look for him since there was a crazy bevy of finches after them. Or maybe they were canaries. Cockatoos? Cockatiels? Parakeets? Well, whatever they were, they were odd-looking. And vicious.

"Mother of Reborn!" Tsuna cried, her arm flailing desperately to knock off a bird that was clinging onto her flesh by its beak. "I think it's trying to eat me!"

"I'll get it off!" Takeshi grabbed the bird with both hands and yanked on it hard.

"Hiii!"

And, so, Takeshi and Tsuna were now wandering in a junkyard of a hangout, utterly lost. Takeshi tried to console the downtrodden girl by pointing out a ferris wheel or rollercoasters they would pass by, but it didn't really help much since these rides were all shutdown. While Takeshi was rambling off, Tsuna was mentally pontificating about how miserable her life was.

Suddenly, Tsuna couldn't take it anymore. "Takeshi, stop."

The boy shut his mouth and jerked sharply at her direction, surprised. "Tsuna?"

"I…" She sighed haggardly as she ran her fingers through her hair, her usual way of expressing her frustration. "I'm _sorry_."

He blinked. "What?"

"I'm sorry for yesterday. I'm sorry that I'm just a selfish insecure brat to you," Tsuna blurted in a breathy rush, sounding as though someone socked her in the stomach. "I don't want our friendship to be at strain diurnally all because of what—what—whatever yesterday was! I—I'm sorry."

However carefully masked it was, the tension between them was still there. Even Takeshi couldn't act as if that day wasn't a big deal, no matter how often he would laugh or smile. The forced upward jerk on the corner of his lips finally went flaccid, matching his tired emotion.

"Tsuna, I…" Takeshi's words trailed off, his voice enervated by his uncertainty. He frowned, and he rubbed his neck in careful thought. It was obvious that he wasn't used to being in a situation where he was at loss of words knowing how talkative he was normally.

"No, Takeshi, you don't have to say anything," Tsuna intervened. Her tongue swiped across her dry lips in nervous fashion. She didn't particularly wanted to hear what he would say in response—could be rebuff or a dismissal, anything hurtful, really. "I just—I just wanted you to know that. Again, I'm sorry."

With that said, she ducked her head low and continued the paused pace. She was rather startled when she heard Takeshi's exhaled chortled, sounding both exhausted and relieved.

"Get back here, Tsuna," he said in breathy laughter. When Tsuna turned around, she was met with Takeshi's genuine cheerful grin. "C'mon!"

Tsuna hesitated at first, but then shrugged off the reluctance and took baby-steps towards the boy. It was unexpected that he would roll his eyes and stride over to her, hauling her in his long arms for a bear-hug. Tsuna squawked in shock and flailed in his grip for a bit, then relaxing into the embrace.

"Yeah, I know. Baseball and kendo prodigy, also the son of the world's famous sushi chef, suddenly revealing his keenness for hugs?" He shrugged. "That's how we made up in my family."

Tsuna blinked. "Uh. So does that mean I'm forgiven?"

"Tsuna, there was nothing for me to forgive you about! More like, I'm the one who should be apologizing."

"What? No, Takeshi, you were the one who was trying to install common sense in me." She sighed. "Look, about Gokudera… I had been thinking about it right after the future you asked me to befriend him. Personally, I find it hard, but I'm working on it. Really, I am."

She raised her chin so that her eyes met with his, her face tightening with seriousness that was often uncommon on her face. "And I won't ask about what happened when you went ten years into the future," she continued. "I'm assuming that someone there had informed you. If you want to keep that to yourself, then that's fine with me."

Takeshi's grin softened to an appreciative smile. "Thanks, Tsuna. You have no idea how lucky I am to have a friend like you."

And, so, the two had officially made up after their first quarrel (which there wasn't really a dispute to make up for, but whatever), hugged one last time, and went on their merry way, totally forgetting the reason why they were here in the first place. It was just one festival of forgiveness and friendship and cheesiness that the track of time had also flown out the window. But that was okay, because they were best friends again.

And then the birds came back.

'Holy crapsicle,' Tsuna thought in a mixture of pee-worthy fear (because those yellow monsters were freaky scary) and annoyance (because they ruined the happy mood). Before she got the chance to turn on her heel and run, Takeshi hoisted her on his shoulder and bolted.

"Ah!" Tsuna grunted. Takeshi's shoulder was broad enough for her stomach's expanse, but it wasn't thick enough to keep it from not jabbing into her intestines. The ride was very, very uncomfortable. On the bright side, she got to appreciate the hot curve of the boy's back to his firm rear—_not that she really was checking him out_. Of course.

_Anyway_, the birds chasing after them played a major distraction, so it wasn't like Tsuna's eyes got the chance to explore much. Seriously.

"I think this day might be getting a bit hectic now," Takeshi stated vociferously. His slightly panicked face was very audible right now. Pretty much screaming in Tsuna's right ear. "You think that there might be a chance for us to somehow contact Reborn? I mean, he's omnipotent, right?"

'Just how much respect does he hold for the man?' she wondered in bewilderment. "How can you say that without getting breathless?" she asked instead.

"Oh, you know me, star athlete since a kid," he replied casually.

"Oh."

"So?"

"I don't—" his shoulder dug into her kidney "_ow_—have my phone with me."

"Sorry. Me neither."

'So, what to do?' It took Takeshi at least ten minutes to lose the birds. They were currently hiding inside one of the empty buildings. Sitting beside her was a heaving Takeshi; it was understandable how exhausted he was since he was running while carrying load for so long.

"Jeez, why would some guy want to sic his pets at us?" Takeshi remarked absently, the inward and outward beat of his chest now slowing down to a normal rhythm. "I don't think I've ever met a man named Bird before. What about you, Tsuna?"

She shook her head. "I think I would remember some loon if I met him even only once," Tsuna answered. She lifted herself up by an inch so that she could steal a quick glimpse outside if the coast was clear. It was, but anxious adrenaline was pumped into her veins, and she didn't want to risk her neck by stepping outside.

Sliding against the wall and plopping back next to Takeshi, Tsuna dug both hands into her hair and sighed. "This is weird," she grumbled, glaring at the dusty ceiling above her.

There was a laugh. "Ha ha! I guess so," Takeshi concurred, grinning. "But, you gotta admit, it was a pretty fun day! I've never done anything like this wherever I moved."

Tsuna lowered her head and prepared to shoot him a deadpanned look when she noticed wistfulness in his eyes. She frowned a bit. "Not even in America?" she asked.

He shook his head. "The people there were interesting. I mean, here, in Japan, everyone's a bit resigned while the Americans are loud and cheerful. Some, most, not all of them, anyway. But I never really had any of this in America, even."

"You mean having a crazy flock of birds chasing you down with hungry intent? That's sad," the words spilled out of her mouth like an exhale. Quickly registering what she said, Tsuna instantly clamped a hand over her mouth, mentally cursing herself for being so tactless.

Instead of being affronted, Takeshi laughed again. "Having a group of people who you could really trust. Friends. Although I'm not sure if I can call Colonnello a friend; I think it's more of the lines of a master and his pupil, like Sasagawa-sempai and Reborn."

'When did he ever start addressing Reborn so familiarly?' Tsuna wondered. "So, you consider Ryohei as a friend then?"

"I guess? I don't know. More like a growing friendship." He smiled down at her. "I think of you as a friend, and Gokudera even, but I think he's playing hard to get."

Tsuna couldn't help it. She burst into laughter.

"Heh, you should do that more often."

"Do what?" she snorted.

"Laugh. You sound nice when you laugh."

"That's a big slice of cheese you're cuttin', pyon."

The two yelped and leapt onto their feet, frantically looking around to see who spoke. Gasps nearly popped their lungs when they noticed that there were two other people standing before them. One was a blonde ruffian and the other a gangly bespectacled boy; they were both donning similar uniforms to what Bird was wearing.

"E-excuse me?" Tsuna squeaked, recoiling.

The blonde sneered. "Pssh. What? We're gonna throw a tea party now, pyon?"

"Ken," the other boy said.

"Aw, c'mon, Kaki-pii! I mean, look at these guys! They're just a couple o' chumps who comes barging into our grounds, pyon!" The blonde surveyed them with contempt. "You think they could be those Namimori bastards, pyon?"

The boy stared.

"Alright, alright!" Ken threw his arms in the air. "I'll stop, pyon!"

"Uhh," Takeshi trailed. "Sooo, you guys wouldn't happen to be Kokuyo Middle students, would ya?"

The two boys turned to look at him. "And if we are, pyon?" Ken demanded.

Takeshi, unaffected by the malice, smiled cheerfully and said, "Then you'd know where Rokudo Mukuro is then! Can you take us to him? We got some things to tell him."

Ken and the bespectacled boy traded glances. "What do you want with him?" the dark haired boy inquired.

"Well, we're making this band, you see, and we were wondering if—"

"We'll take you to him."

The blonde turned his head to his friend in bewilderment. "The hell, pyon?" he cried.

The boy merely pushed up his glasses. "Mukuro-sama has been expecting you. We mustn't keep him waiting." Before turning around and leading them further into the depths of the building, he pointed out, "Ken, you might have not noticed, but that's Yamamoto Takeshi."

Ken's attention suddenly pulled over to Takeshi's disheveled features. "Whoa, seriously?" he gasped.

'A fan?' Tsuna wondered.


	23. Interlude 3

**AN 1: **This interlude was also inspired by another Avengers fic. It was hilarious. I ripped a lung from laughing too hard. Too bad I forgot what it was called.

**AN 2:** I couldn't post an original chapter because I ran into a writer's block, so this came to mind. Please don't be bothered by that.

**SUMMARY:** Living in the Vongola Mansion with everyone else reminds you how life will never be boring. That is why there are rules established.

XOXOXOXO

Rule #1

Mukuro was banned forever from having his turn on picking a movie for movie nights. Forever and ever.

The movies that he selected were always horror films. Sure, everyone loved a good thriller every once in a while, but Mukuro's movies were always _piss-worthy scary_.

For example, one night everyone was watching _Insidious_. Everyone (besides Mukuro—who was chuckling the whole time—and Hibari—who had that poker face down impeccably) was screaming their lungs out. Ryohei, who had the strongest vocal chords of the group, screamed the loudest, nearly knocking Tsuna out with his ear-splitting shrieks.

No one had the guts to drag themselves to bed to sleep that night, too afraid to have evil spirits to come haunt them in their dreams. They all stayed planted on the sofas until the sun rose.

Reborn decided that he had enough. How were Tsuna and his guardians ever going to do their jobs when they were always so jumpy and tired?

XOXOXOXOXO

Rule #2

Spanner was restricted from staying in his workshop more than nine hours. Here are some five legit reasons as to why Spanner was restricted from staying in his workshop more than nine hours.

One: He needed to get himself a social self.

Two: Building himself a robo-girlfriend doesn't count as love.

Three: He will die from starvation from locking himself up.

Four: If fact, he'll die from lack of hygiene as well.

Five: And that would be majorly gross.

XOXOXOXO

Rule #3

Yamamoto was allowed to bring sushi once a month.

Ever since everyone moved into the mansion, Yamamoto's father made a big batch of sushi in celebration. On the second day, there was another celebration on making it out on the second day of being a fancy-pants tenant. On the third day, another celebration for the third day. Finally, on the seventeenth day, everyone got sick and tired of raw fish attached to sticky rice that they balled up all the rice and made a riceman. It's like a snowman, but made out of rice.

Now, what did they do with all the fish? Well, they tried flushing it down their toilets, but the sewage got backed up and flooded the place. The mansion had been sopping with soggy salmon and tuna specials and toilet water for _weeks_ that reconstruction was in order.

No one wanted to see another piece of sushi ever again. When Yamamoto came in one day, toiling in a cartful of sushi in celebration for the finishing constructions, Gokudera nearly bodily chucked him out the window. Of course, Tsuna stopped him before he got the chance (and he discretely signaled the sushi to be flamed).

XOXOXOXO

Rule #4

Stripe poker was forbidden.

Well, it _was_ originally strip poker, but somehow it progressed to strip poker EXTREEEME.

Mukuro was disappointed.

Yamamoto was too.

Ryohei grieved about it (possibly because it was rather EXTREME).

Gokudera was relieved; obviously it was because he kept he kept losing in each round. Tsuna had yet to recover from witnessing his right-hand man's full moon at one late night.

Lambo was a minor so he wasn't allowed to play, but, for whatever reason, he was disappointed too.

XOXOXOXO

Rule #5

The movie _Titanic_ shall never be played again for particular reasons.

_Obviously_ for _obvious_ reasons because it was uncomfortable how a group of men (save for I-Pin and Chrome) was trying to hold their tears in for the sake of their manliness (although said manliness was questionable ever since the screaming night fest—Mukuro even had it recorded).

Although, Ryohei blatantly burst into tears and snot, especially at the part where the ship sinks and Jack and Rose look at each other so lovingly yet so despairingly because they know that they'll all perish in an icy death (ironically, the girl survives).

And, of course, the naked lady scene.

This one was especially for Tsuna and Lambo, who could both blush as red as a tomato.

For lunch the next day, Reborn had the cooks prepare salsa and chips. Tsuna was not amused.

XOXOXOXOXO

Rule #6

The movie _Transformers_ has also been banned.

It's highly unnecessary to give Spanner any ideas about building any robots that had minds of their own (Decepticons, for that matter).

XOXOXOXOXO

Rule #7

Rollerblading was now forbidden.

Lambo, Ryohei, and Yamamoto were bored one day, so they decided to do some rollerblading to pass the time. They decided to do a race, and, knowing Ryohei, he would do things in an EXTREME fashion. Yamamoto had a competitive streak; Lambo just liked winning.

They were making rounds and sped up faster and faster and faster. Suddenly, the wheels of Ryohei's blades spontaneously caught on fire, causing his steer to spin out of control. He couldn't stop because the velocity was just too high, and he eventually caught all the curtains on fire.

He even crashed through the window from the third floor.

Luckily, he fell into the fountain.

Unluckily, he broke both legs. Using the urinal had never been so difficult.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Rule #8

No one but the Chrome and I-Pin were permitted to own tampons.

Though, Chrome doesn't even use tampons. And I-Pin hadn't hit puberty yet.

Well, this is awkward.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Rule #9

No one was allowed to be verbose.

It gives unintelligent people headaches (i.e Tsuna, Ryohei, and sometimes Yamamoto).

One day, Reborn and Mukuro were feeling particularly sadistic and came to a mutual (and temporary) agreement. They somehow roped Hibari along too. Gokudera, not knowing what was in their sleeves, joined along too because he thought it was some kind of competition to see who was the smartest guardian.

"I'll expel a cachinnation because it's a cacoethes," Mukuro said.

"I'll show you my dactylion if you do, you cruciverbalist," Gokudera countered.

The illusionist blinked. "How did you know?"

"Man, everyone sees you doing them every morning!"

"Kufufu, I see."

"Adelphepothia," Hibari droned.

The two looked at Gokudera.

Gokudera blanched. "You two are sick freaks! Hell no!"

"It was a rather witzelsucht," Mukuro chuckled.

"Philosophunculist," Hibari replied.

"Well, at least it does impress."

"You do tetrapyloctomy on the top of your head," Gokudera said, pointing at Mukuro's hairstyle.

Mukuro twitched. "You're a vituperative talker," he drawled.

The bomber grinned. "You got that right, motherfu—"

"Stop it!" Tsuna cried, flailing his arms wildly.

"Gah, my head!" Yamamoto whimpered, caressing his temple.

Ryohei had promptly passed out.

As to why Reborn didn't say anything, it didn't really matter.

XOXOXOXOXO

Rule #10

Don't give Mukuro permanent marker.

The bastard will scribble on every available face he can find. He wrote "the sex was great!" on Gokudera's forehead when he was asleep, and the poor man hadn't even noticed it yet.

Tsuna choked on his donut when his right-hand man greeted him.

XOXOXOXOXO

Rule #11

Don't give Lambo and I-Pin Legos.

They'll start to play with the pieces, but then get bored and leave them lying around. And, chances are, if Legos are lying around, someone will step on them. But what are the chances of someone going barefoot?

Tsuna's a chance, and he stepped on a piece.

No one will ever forget his cry of agony.

XOXOXOXOXO

Rule #12

Mukuro was NEVER ALLOWED to give Lambo and I-Pin the "birds and bees" talk.

But it was too late to save their innocence, anyway.

The poor kids were traumatized and could barely stay in one room with the opposite sex for more than thirty seconds.

Okay, correction:

Rule #12

Mukuro was NEVER ALLOWED to be near children ever again. Unless, of course, the children happened to be his own evil league of spawn, but what sort of freak would throw herself at _Mukuro_ of all people?


	24. Chapter 24

**AN:** But that's not Mukuro… That's—!

* * *

Tsuna felt as though she was being escorted by two prison wards of a detention director. Or by two grunts of a tribal leader. Or by two minions of an evil overlord. Or something.

If the atmosphere wasn't so tense, Tsuna would have laughed at how the blonde was ogling at Takeshi as if he was a glorified version of a Captain America vintage figurine to a genuine comic nerd, basking in the toy's golden rays of awesomeness. Except Takeshi's not a toy and Ken's not a comic nerd, but apparently a huge fan of Takeshi's accomplishments.

"Have I mentioned I'm a huge fan, pyon?" Ken asked for the millionth time.

Takeshi—oh, sweet, kind, gentle, oblivious, stupid Takeshi—laughed his good-natured laugh and replied, "I think you have, dude."

"Dude, I love you, man! I seriously do, pyon!"

"Love you too!"

Ken looked like he was going to have an aneurism. "Omigosh," he whispered frantically, fanning himself. "Omigosh. Omigosh."

For the past who-knows-how-long, Ken had been flapping his lips about not only how much of a huge fan he was, but how much he admired the athletic versatilities Takeshi had achieved. He had tried out a prolific number of sports, hoping to ever catch up to the celebrity.

Takeshi laughed at this again. "Nuh uh. I'm not that amazing," he had told him. "Anyway, my main sports are kendo and baseball, so there's not really any number of sports for you to compare yourself to me to."

"But you _are_ amazing, pyon!" Ken cried for _the millionth time_, throwing his arms in the air. "I mean, super utterly amazing, pyon!"

"Ken normally doesn't behave like this," Chikusa, the bespectacled boy, assured Tsuna. "Other than around Mukuro-sama and Yamamoto Takeshi, he's usually a belligerent moron."

"Ah," Tsuna said noncommittally. '_Why_ is there a barcode on his cheek?' she wondered again, staring at the barcode.

They had been traveling via an underground tunnel from dusty old circus tent. Tsuna didn't even know that Namimori once had a circus—wait, weren't circuses peripatetic? Well, anyway, the tunnel eventually ended up in a warehouse. Strange enough to see that there was a chair on high platform with red and yellow adornments to make it as though it was a throne.

And sitting upon that throne was a lean boy with the most ridiculous haircut Tsuna had ever laid her eyes of (it reminded her of a pineapple). She was a little taken back by his eyes—one was a burgundy and the other was blue. Her first perception of the boy deepened when she took in the pineapple hairdo, the multicolored eyes, and a freaking _trident_ in his hand.

A trident.

Tsuna looked over her shoulder, contemplating on turning back before something wrong happens. Three odd-looking foreigners garbed in Japanese school uniforms—that's asking for trouble right there.

The boy stood up from the throne graced Takeshi and Tsuna with a smirk. "Welcome," he said with a grand gesture, "to the Kokuyo Gang's hideout, Yamamoto Takeshi and Sawada Tsunayoshi."

The two stared at him with surprise. "You know who Tsuna is? I mean, I might look a bit disheveled, but it's not really shocking for someone to know who I am," Takeshi said. "Not to sound conceited or anything."

"You're never conceited, pyon!" Ken insisted with hero-worship evident in his eyes.

"Of course I know who you are," the guy continued as if no one had impeded the conversation. He bowed, his trident sweeping behind him. "My name is Rokudo Mukuro."

'Rokudo's a creep,' Tsuna decided after eyeing the hair for ten seconds.

"Cool," Takeshi chirped, an easy grin on his face. "We have a message to deliver to you."

'You're not going to ask how he knows my name?'

Rokudo was polite enough to pretend to be curious. "Oh?"

He nodded. "Yup. You see, we're from a band called Vongola Decimo, currently being trained and organized by a former band called Arcoboloni."

"Arcobaleno," Tsuna corrected.

"Right. Thanks, Tsuna. Anyway, we're here to recruit you as our bass player. So? What do you say?"

Rokudo didn't say anything, just letting his eyes fall over the sports prodigy, studying him. Then, when he looked over at Tsuna's direction, Tsuna involuntarily flinched, eliciting his lips to jerk upwards in wry delight. He turned around and sat back down on his throne, reclining against his seat.

This gave Tsuna an uncanny image of a king and his royal subjects, and it seemed like Takeshi and Tsuna were the peasants begging for food rather than making a proposition. Well, she didn't know what Takeshi thought about it; he's usually laidback about everything.

Finally, Rokudo spoke. "It does sound amusing to participate in this band of yours."

'What? How's it amusing? Takeshi didn't even go to the details yet!'

"But, rather, I think I'll enter the competition with my subordinates just to spite the Arcobaleno."

Takeshi and Tsuna blinked. "Wait, what?"

"And to further the spite, I shall win the competition and use the money to build my monument as a manifestation of the Vongola Decimo's failure," he said, flourishing it off by spreading his arms wide.

Tsuna opened her mouth, and then closed her mouth, her teeth clicking together. She fixed him a stern look, appraising him whether he was joking or serious. It was hard to tell when there was a perpetual smirk on his face. Looking up, she was met with Takeshi's shared confusion. The sports prodigy shrugged and said, "So, is that a no?"

Rokudo chuckled. "Yes, Yamamoto Takeshi, it is a no."

'Well, it's not as if we can accept a refusal, no matter how we would be so eager to comply.' Tsuna coughed into her fist. "Uh, um, sorry, but you can't say no," she said, suddenly feeling shy when eyes landed on her.

"Oh?" Rokudo cocked his head, as if pretending to be surprised by this. "And why is that, Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

'Because I can't go back home unless I want bullets through my body.' She shifted her weight to one foot. "Um, you see," Tsuna began nervously, "the bass player of the Arcobaleno found that you had potential to play the bass, so—"

She was cut off by Rokudo's bark of laughter. "_Potential_?" he mused, startling both Takeshi and Tsuna. The same smirk flitted back on his face as his eyelids lowered to a half-lidded gaze. "I think there is a misunderstanding. I do not posses potential."

"You… You don't?" Tsuna asked, confused.

"Of course not. I surpassed potential; I am a master."

'Holy crap. This guy's supercilious, and it's kind of sad.'

"Wait," Takeshi said, a frown on his face, "there's a competition?"

Rokudo raised a brow. "Were you not informed, Yamamoto Takeshi?"

"You can just call me Yamamoto or whatever. Saying my full name must be a mouthful," Takeshi dismissed. "And no. I think Reborn left that detail on us. Isn't that right, Tsuna?"

"Uh, yeah," Tsuna said. 'Reborn, what are you putting us into…?'

"Interesting." Rokudo plopped his chin on his fist, his elbow propped on the arm of his chair. "Reborn of the Arcobaleno did not mention about the competition. Perhaps the Vongola Decimo will not participate the battle of the bands then? Shame, and here I was looking forward in demolishing you," he said with feigned grief.

'The more he talks, the less I'm starting to like him,' Tsuna thought dryly, 'not that I ever liked him.' She threw a glance at Ken and Chikusa, who had suddenly abandoned their attention on the conversation and were now playing their gameboys. 'Some grunts they are.'

"Haha, a competition! That'd be fun," Takeshi said cheerfully. "Hey, maybe Reborn would let us join in this contest! Seems exciting. What do you say, Tsuna?"

"Uh…" She looked up and shook her head. "N-no! We can't. Competition or not, we need Rokudo Mukuro."

"Why, Tsunayoshi, I never thought you felt that way about me," Rokudo chuckled. When he gave her a wink, Tsuna felt her whole face go hot and body go rigid. "Though, I am quite flattered."

Takeshi's enthusiasm instantly evaporated when his eyes turned back on her, wide in mortification. "Tsuna! You barely know the guy!"

Tsuna reeled back in alarm. "What? No, Takeshi it—it isn't like that!" she sputtered, her arms flailing in desperation, especially when he scrunched his eyebrows together. "Honestly!"

"Well… Okay…" he said uncertainly. "I guess—"

The roof of the warehouse exploded into a rain of plaster, ashes, and sakura petals. Takeshi threw his body over Tsuna to the ground, protecting her from the debris. When the wreckage shower had ended, Tsuna gently pushed Takeshi off of her. The sports prodigy groggily blinked himself to full awareness, pretty banged up from taking the brunt of the debris.

'What the HELL!' Tsuna screamed internally. 'What the HELL'S NAME! MotherbirthingRebornofItaly. What the jeebleebers. Oh, freaking flapjacks. What the HELL!'

"Man, what—" he paused to cough, waving away the rising dust "—h-happened?"

"I-I don't know," Tsuna replied in a small voice, her body shaking in momentary shock. She focused her eyes on Takeshi's white powered hair and clothes as her hands subconsciously grabbed his wrist in a weak hold. "W-we sh-should get out of h-here!"

"Yeah, you're right." Takeshi looked around and then said, "Why are there sakura petals everywhere?"

"T-Takeshi!"

"Oh, right." The boy stood up and tried to balance his weight after wobbling a bit. After reassuring a frantic Tsuna that he was fine, Takeshi then helped her get up and let her lean her weight against him. "Are you alright?"

She nodded.

The clouds of dust eventually exonerated. Standing in the clear made Takeshi and Tsuna's eyes widen in mindboggling incredulity.

"There're _two_ Rokudos?" Takeshi gasped aloud.

Standing on opposing sides was an identical pair, both wearing the same clothes, sharing the same eyes and hair, and wielding the same trident. One of the Rokudos, however, appeared to be battered and bloody while the other one wore a peculiar expression of concern.

"Kufufu," said the beaten one, his smirk looking a bit lopsided on his bruised face. "Well done, my dear Chrome. You may cancel the illusion now."

"Yes, Mukuro-sama," the other Rokudo said in a disturbingly soft feminine voice. In one hot blur of purple smoke, in the first Rokudo's place was a petite girl. She wore an eyepatch and had the same haircut as Rokudo. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Rokudo—the actual Rokudo—didn't get a chance to say anything when a blue figure was going to make a landing on top of him. Rokudo leapt away, marking a safe distance from the attacker—it was Belphegor. The prince grinned widely as he carelessly flipped a knife into the air and dexterously caught the hilt. Rokudo merely appraised him with dignified nonchalance.

"Shishishishi. Oi, the two of you," Bel said, looking at Takeshi and Tsuna, "get Hibari and Sasagawa out of this building. Now."

"What? They're here?" Takeshi called out to him. Bel didn't answer, however, when his attention went back to Rokudo, now immersed in attacking him.

Rokudo lifted his trident and blocked the knife that Bel had plunged forward. His eyes rolled to the direction where they were standing and simply shouted, "Chrome, Chikusa, Ken. _Now_."

"C'mon, Tsuna," Takeshi said with urgency, tugging on her wrist. Tsuna followed immediately as she too could sense that something bad was going to happen if they don't find either Hibari or Ryohei.

Before they could take another step, Tsuna felt Takeshi's hand disappear. She gasped aloud when she saw him being bodily thrown five feet away and crash onto the ground. Takeshi slid across the surface until he slapped a hand down and attempted to prop himself back up, only to wince in slight pain.

"Ta-Takeshi!" Tsuna tried to run to him, but was stopped by Chrome, who appeared before her suddenly. "Hiii!" she cried out when the trident was pointed at her.

"It sucks for me to do this to you, but orders are orders, pyon." Ken and Chikusa sauntered past the girls and to Takeshi. Ken smirked. "No hard feelings, right?"

Takeshi grinned, though his eyes flashed something. "I suppose an autograph won't convince you otherwise."

Ken's eyes widened and he snapped his head towards Chikusa. Chikusa pushed his glasses up and said, "No."

"But Kaki-pii—!"

Suddenly, Takeshi launched past the two boys, dropped low, and performed a swift roundhouse kick, knocking Chrome off her feet. When she dropped the trident, Takeshi kicked it away from her reach, and then went for Tsuna. He grabbed her arms and pulled her up, offering her a grin. "Martial arts," he told her. "Something that a sports savvy person like me had to learn."

They made a break for it across one side of the warehouse, hearing a distant exclamation of "So _cool_, pyon!" As they traveled, Bel called out to them, "Out the window!" Takeshi gave a curt nod and caught Tsuna's hand with his own, and the bolted forward, turned his heel, and crashed through the window with his back. Tsuna toppled onto Takeshi when they crashed.

"Well," Takeshi said, trying to catch his breath from the sudden spurt of adrenaline pumped into his system, "I think I could use less excitement for the day."

'You and me both,' Tsuna thought, wishing for the day to end. That or Reborn to die a painful, painful, painful death. She was sure that Skull would also appreciate that.

Tsuna rolled off of him and grasped onto a patch of grass, pulling herself on her knees. From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Rokudo's friends running towards from the gap of the window that Takeshi had made. "We gotta move!" she hissed.

"Where do you think our sempais are?" Takeshi wondered, already on his feet.

"Beats me," she replied.

"Hey, over there!"

They dove into the bushes and hastily concealed themselves by curling up into balls. Through the gaps of twigs and leaves, they watched Chrome, Chikusa, and Ken jump through the window without getting themselves cut by the shards and split into separate directions after a brief planning.

Tsuna felt her body sag in relief. None of them noticed that they were hiding, which was good because she needed a break from all this abrupt craziness. She ran a hand through her hair and groaned. 'By any chance did Reborn set this whole thing up? I mean, seriously! It's like everyday has to be set up to be a trial to my survival.'

Reaching the peak of exhaustion, Tsuna fell back on her bottom, only to feel not the dirt ground where grass and mud would stain her jeans, but an oddly warm and soft cushioning. There was a grunt coming underneath her, causing her to yelp and fall forward. There, behind them, was Ryohei sprawled across the ground, looking like a rainbow mess.

"Sempai! You're here," Takeshi exclaimed cheerfully. "What are the chances!"

"You guys alright?" Ryohei said through a split lip.

"Yeah, we're fine. Got Rokudo's friends after us, though. What about you? How'd you end up like this?"

"Remember that geezer named Bird?" Ryohei moaned softly when he tried to sit up, his hand flying to his torso. "Nng. Well, his birds caught up with me. I then got roped along with Belphegor and Hibari. Apparently, Hibari's got a bone to pick with Rokudo for, you know, beating up the students of Namimori."

"Yeah, Bel told us that he was here." Takeshi frowned. "Which brings the question: Do you know where he is?"

Ryohei shook his head. "I haven't seen him since he went after Rokudo when we found him in an alley. After that, I got separated from Belphegor by this girl with a magic clarinet."

Tsuna and Takeshi blinked. "Magic clarinet?" they said in unison.

"Yeah! Every time she plays it, deafening music pours out of it. I had an _extremely_ hard time focusing at all," he complained. "Nearly busted my eardrums and exploded some head arteries."

"Ew," they said again in unison.

"What happened to the girl?" Takeshi asked.

"Lost her. I ended up here."

"So, wait… You're telling me got your butt whooped to a girl?"

Ryohei's head turned so fast that all Tsuna saw was a blur. His wide eyes were pinned on Takeshi. "What."

A cheeky grin spread across his face. "You did! You did get beaten by a girl!"

"I didn't!" he insisted petulantly, his face turning bright red.

"Then who colored you black and blue?"

"It was the clarinet! The clarinet!"

"Suuure."

'Okay, I think we're losing focus here.' Tsuna intervened by saying, "Is that all? Did you find anything else? Like, anything on Rokudo Mukuro?"

"What do you mean?" Ryohei grumbled. "That's it. I only caught a glimpse of Rokudo, though. I think his hair was, uh, spiky, if that helps with anything."

"Oh, we already met him. Or, rather, it was a girl who dressed like him." Takeshi scratched his head. "Actually, I don't know. When we met her, she was a perfect replica of Rokudo, with the voice and face and all, but then the real Rokudo shows up and tells the girl to cancel the illusion, and in a puff of smoke she turns into a girl! It was pretty wicked; it was like a magic trick or something," he elaborated with wild gestures.

"A magic trick?"

"Yup. The girl had Rokudo's hair and an eyepatch, though."

Ryohei took a moment to register this. "The Kokuyo students are messed up."

"They're not all too bad. One of them is a fan of mine."

"That Ken guy is pretty bad," Tsuna groused, scowling.

* * *

**PREVIEW**

_Gokudera. Impetuous, ill-mannered, scary, intelligent, hard-working, brave, faithful Gokudera. _

"_Gokudera!" Tsuna screamed._

_And her legs moved. _


	25. Chapter 25

It has been ten minutes. Or an hour. Tsuna couldn't tell how long they were walking. Actually, they were more likely dragging their feet than walking. Dragging through mucky grounds. Her shoes were now caked with dirt and her clothes were mud-splattered; above all, she was so _tired_. It wasn't as if the boys were fairing any better; Ryohei, after all, experienced a nasty pummeling with Bird's birds (canaries? cockatoos? cockatiels? parakeets?) and a girl's (apparently) magic clarinet while Takeshi had a throw-down with Rokudo's goons.

What a nice way to spend the weekend. Being chased and getting beaten up.

"Hibari-sempai sure is hard to find," Takeshi sighed.

"That guy… Just where is he?" Ryohei groused.

Tsuna couldn't bring herself to comment. Her energy was depleted! Just before she could force herself to take another step, the toe of her shoe got caught in a pocket of thick dried mud, causing the girl to trip and fall flat on her face. 'Oww…'

"Tsuna! Are you okay?" She felt strong hands encircle both of her upper arms and lift her up. Once she was on her feet, Takeshi filled her vision. She caught a glimpse of concern on his face, but it didn't last long after it shifted into a humored grin. "Ha! You look like a kid who spent all day making mud-pies!" he chuckled. He pulled the cotton end of his jacket sleeve over his knuckles and proceeded wiping away the mud.

Tsuna blushed, but didn't say anything.

"You need to be more careful, Tsuna," Ryohei turned around to admonish. "You could get hurt—is that _blood_?"

Immediately, all eyes were pinned on the red stain under her collarbone. Tsuna's red face blanched.

"B-but I didn't even get hurt!" she exclaimed, which was true since she didn't feel anything save for the ground and the works of gravity against her.

The boys pulled their attention from the girl to the ground that she fell on. There was an impressive imprint of Tsuna's body, but other than that there was no sign of a slab of rock, a broken piece of glass, or anything that could have punctured her skin. No, there was nothing except for a small dark red pool from where she landed.

"Whoa, what in the world…?" Takeshi ambled closer and knelt down. "The ground isn't flat; it's lumpy," he observed.

"It doesn't look like the natural like of lumpy either," Ryohei mused. He frowned and absently scuffed his foot on the mound. "Think that it's a buried animal?"

"It could be. Hey, maybe those Kokuyo students did it."

The boxer nodded seriously. "I wouldn't put it past them."

"I suppose that they would be weird enough to do something like this…"

'What are we doing wasting our time here?' Well, they _were_ middle school boys. Especially at this age, guys' interests would be set far from Tsuna's understanding. However, the circumstances didn't call for them to be idle around—they had to find Hibari! And what came next, Tsuna didn't know, but it didn't matter at this moment. Even if there was a puddle of blood and a buried animal…

Just before Tsuna could urge the boys to get a move on, something unexpected happened. For a few seconds, the ground appeared to be shifting and shaking, and then, all of a sudden, the compacted dirt exploded, flying around in chunks and further painting the three further in colors of ick and yuck when splattering them. Lo and behold a hand protruding from the earth, the palm facing heavenward and the fingers stretched out.

It took Tsuna a moment to register that, instead of an animal, there was a _person buried alive_.

Takeshi, who fell backwards in shock, quickly scrambled onto his feet and backed away. "What in the world…"

The arm propped itself down firmly onto the ground and began to push. The elbow didn't take long to come out, and then followed the upper arm. Eventually, uncanny to how a zombie would rise from its grave, Hibari pulled himself from the ground. Clumps of mud hung onto strands of his hair, his clothes were torn, and a large blood stain was found at the side of his formerly white shirt. But the most startling feature? The very dark expression on his face. Tsuna had never seen the prefect appear so angry…or frightening.

"_Where is he_?" Hibari hissed. "_Where is that blonde bastard_?"

* * *

Belphegor was the one who buried Hibari.

Of course, that was just a theory that Tsuna came up with. It wasn't as if she could ask Hibari without getting herself pulverized (and even if she hadn't before, it was likely that she could now, considering the tense atmosphere). Anyway, even though they didn't receive an answer, it was fairly easy to tell just what happened. Why else would Hibari be so furious at Bel?

Well, the bigger question here would be: Why would Bel bury Hibari?

* * *

**Author's Note:** It's short, I know. But this thing's been sitting in my folder for the longest time. I tried to lengthen it, but I've got nothing else in mind. Yes, I'm still alive.


End file.
